The Sect Leader System-Chapter 311: It’s a No for Me, Dawg

Zou Tian was well into his ninth ten-hour cultivation session of the day, only one more to go to reach the maximum number of uses of the Time dilation room that Master allowed. He cycled his qi as dictated by his cultivation method. Then again. And again.

The next time, though, something changed. He felt it. He was ready.

Foundation Establishment.

He would need to trigger the breakthrough, of course, but not at his current location. There were accommodations set up on a floor in the Healing Pavilion for that purpose. Even if it weren’t a strict sect policy to advance major realms where one could be monitored by medical personnel, as Master referred to them, Zou Tian had heard about the mess left behind during such an event. There was absolutely no way he’d risk soiling his special cultivation chamber. He spent way too much time in there to put it in jeopardy.

Ugh! He shuddered as he imagined dealing with the smell for hour after hour.

The only question was if he should end his session early, but it didn’t take much thought for him to answer that he should. Once a cultivator was ready to advance, they were advised to stop cycling. And any other use of his time, like practicing techniques, was simply not a priority.

He cleaned up after himself—though a neat person by nature, so much time in a single room even when most of it was spent cultivating created some inevitable messiness—shut down the arrays powering the dilation, and exited, eager to reach Foundation Establishment. As he calmly walked from the building, he took in his surroundings, aware that he would soon experience it in an entirely new way—with his spiritual sense. That thought led him to reflect on his life.

It sure was turning out differently than he’d expected back when he’d been a street rat on in Sixth Flawless Flowing City. Honestly, he’d had no expectations at all. He hadn’t even thought he’d survive to reach adulthood.

Then, he met Master and joined the Rising Tide Sect. Currently, out of all the young members, he was anticipated to be the first who married, and he was okay with that. And getting more okay all the time.

People in the sect respected him, actively seeking his advice for problems.

Add to that the fact that only three other members—not counting Master or Senior Brother Fatty Ren who hadn’t been recruited as a mortal, of course—had reached Foundation Establishment. Out of hundreds of recruits, Zou Tian would be the fourth.

Honestly, he sometimes had trouble believing his new life was reality. He feared the day when he’d wake, his stomach in agonizing pain due to lack of food, and realize it had all been a wonderful dream.

Until that dreaded day, though, he vowed to make the most of his new circumstances.

Of course, everything wasn’t perfect. He’d worked hard to get where he was. For every twenty-four hours that passed for most of the sect members, he lived through one hundred fourteen.

Everything about his schedule was off compared to almost everyone else. Meals. Sleep. He’d first entered the Time dilation room twenty objective days ago, and since, it was where he spent the vast majority of his life. Even though only the same ten hours were dedicated to cultivating like they had been before, it was really a hundred hours subjectively. He felt like he never saw his girlfriend.

All the effort was worth it, though, and not because he was about to ascend to a new major realm. That advancement was but a step in the direction of his real goal—protecting the sect.

Since he’d advanced slightly ahead of his projected schedule, he had three full days before he was scheduled to leave for Vermilion Incomparable Rain Town, where he would train his spy technique and tactics. Though he’d carry what Master called a “get out of jail free card,” the Town Lord would not be notified of Zou Tian’s actions in advance, so the practice carried at least a modicum of danger.

Any threat posed by the unaware forces loyal to Senior Brother Fatty Ren paled in comparison to what Zou Tian would find when he returned to the city. If caught there, he would be put to death, probably after being tortured. His mission was not a game.

Of course, he would have his contingency ring and all the gifts Master had granted him for protection, especially the talismans. Yuan Yaozu had said that those could hold off a Nascent Soul cultivator for a little while.

Regardless, Zou Tian would spend about a month in town honing his skills before leaving for his real mission. Those thirty days, though, were specifically for working on the practical application of spycraft, not for working on his other techniques.

That restriction meant that he had three days to learn all three of his Foundation Establishment realm techniques, preferably getting all three of them to Small Success. Considering that most techniques required a week to reach that level, his goal would be unobtainable if not for the use of Time dilation. As it was, he still only had the equivalent of two weeks, one less than he ostensibly needed.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Best get to it.

Zou Tian grabbed one of Wan Ai’s hands in each of his.

“You’re really leaving today? Now?” she said.

“In a few hours, after I meet with Master and Senior Brother Yuan Yaozu.”

She sighed. “I know I agreed to this, but do you really have to go. You’ll be in danger.”

“And because I’m putting myself in danger, the rest of you going to the tournament will hopefully be in less.”

The look on her face told him that his argument was less than convincing.

“That being said, I swear that I’ll be careful. And the only person even more adamant that I don’t put myself at any risk is Master. With the two of you telling me the same thing, how can I possibly disobey?”

There. That helped. She neither looked like she was about to cry nor to shout at him. Not that she ever actually shouted as she was far too shy still to do so.

“Fine,” she said. “I just feel that we’ve hardly spent any time together for the last month.”

“I agree. We’ve both been far too busy.” He dropped one of her hands and turned, pulling her behind him with the one still holding hers. “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” she said, while hurrying after him.

“You’ll see.”

A few minutes later, they stood in his Time dilation room, and as soon as the door shut, he activated it. “There. Ten whole hours all to ourselves.”

Zou Tian stood before two of the most powerful cultivators on the continent. One was a Nascent Soul, Yuan Yaozu, and the other either in that same realm or higher, Master. The funny thing was that Zou Tian wasn’t in the least bit intimidated, though some part of him insisted that he should be. Either of the two could blow him to pieces simply by sneezing.

But neither of them would. Master would sooner die than allow harm to come to any of his disciples—or sect members for that matter. And Yuan Yaozu had taken a vow to protect the Rising Tide Sect for a century, and that oath was witnessed by the heavens. Zou Tian had no idea what damage striking him down would cause, but he guessed that tribulation lightning would be involved.

Not that the Nascent Soul would do such a thing, anyway. He actually seemed like a good person. But in Zou Tian’s experience, it was always a good idea to evaluate what could happen in a given situation, which would hopefully serve him well on his mission.

“Report,” Yuan Yaozu said. “Where are you with your techniques?”

Zou Tian had never been in the army, but he felt like a private being inspected by a general. By a pair of generals. He stood up even straighter. “I reached Small Success with each of the three, Senior Brother—perception, the shield, and Backstab.”

“That’s impressive for only two subjective weeks of work,” Master, who didn’t look at all surprised, said. “Good job.”

Most of the sect members speculated endlessly about how he knew about every advancement anyone made. And they did mean anyone. Zou Tian had witnessed Master approach a random sect member and say, “Ren Ning, congratulations on reaching Large Success with your spear yesterday night. Great work. Keep it up.”

Ren Ning’s jaw dropped, probably having not believed anyone high in the sect knew he even existed much less that his progress was being tracked so closely by the sect leader. Once Master was out of earshot, the boy exclaimed, “How could he have known? It happened last night while I was in my courtyard. I haven’t even told Senior Brother yet.”

Regardless of how, the effect on morale was extraordinary. Even the lowliest Qi Gathering member felt like they were important.

Zou Tian’s only experience with leaders had been the gangs back in the city, and those were ruled by violence and intimidation. Master’s way of making everyon feel valued definitely seemed better. None of the gang members had been willing to put their lives on the line for their leaders unless they were almost literally forced into a corner. In contrast, Zou Tian was even now preparing to risk everything just on the chance he could help.

He cupped his hands. “Gratitude.”

“Are you ready for your mission?” Yuan Yaozu said.

Zou Tian sensed that the moment of truth had come. He’d either receive authorization to leave or he’d be told he failed. “I am, Senior Brother.”

“You have prepared diligently. I have no objections to you proceeding.”

“Gratitude, Senior Brother.”

Master shook his head. “Sorry, but it’s a no for me, dawg. Too pitchy.”

Zou Tian panicked for a moment until he spotted the slight grin on Master’s face. “I see, Master. Pitchy?”

“What I meant to say is that you’re missing one crucial element. This!” Master said, his grin stretching to split his face.

He held out a ring, one as shabby looking as the contingency ring Zou Tian wore. “I got the idea from a story I read once. It was about three superheroes who had to travel to a foreign country in disguise while trying to find a shapeshifting spy. It’s perfect for your needs!”

Superheroes?

“Gratitude, Master. What does it do?”

“I’ll show you. I liked the idea so much that I made one for myself, and I’ll make one for all the sect members eventually, starting with the ones going to the tournament.” Master, who was wearing his usual silver and blue sect robe, twisted the ring.

Suddenly, he wore entirely different attire, a sect battle robe. He twisted it again and that outfit was replaced with a shirt and pants.

“The ring can switch out anything you’re wearing instantaneously with one of two stored inside it. Pretty cool, huh? And absolutely perfect for you to make quick changes if you’re being chased. Yours has an additional feature, though.” Master pulled a mirror taller than a man’s height equipped with a stand from his ring. “Try it.”

With a little bit of trepidation, Zou Tian put the device on his finger and twisted. Instantly, he travel clothes were replaced with an outfit an wealthy young noble might wear. He’d expected that change, though. What he hadn’t saw coming was that his entire face was altered. His nose grew longer, and his ears took one a different shape. Even his hair was longer.

Not even Wan Ai would recognize him.

“Like I said, cool huh?”

“Very cool, Master. Gratitude.”

Zou Tian meant it, too. Between the new ring and all the tools he’d been equipped with, he really thought he had a good chance of succeeding on his mission.

“The ring is quite customizable,” Master said. “You can change the outfits and even adjust the changes it makes to your face and body. Unfortunately, I couldn’t both include all those functions on a tiny ring and make the use of it intuitive. You’ll find instructions in a pocket of one of the outfits.”

Zou Tian cupped his hands.

“All right,” Master said, “with that, it’s a yes for me. Good luck, dawg.”

Zou Tian didn’t know the meaning of the term, dawg, but he was ready to begin training for real. For the good of the sect. For Wan Ai’s protection. To defend all his sect brothers and sisters. Even Master.

“Gratitude, Master. Gratitude, Senior Brother.”