Chapter 175: Rise
Kang Ya-Ting slowly sipped his tea as he sat across from Chao Su.
The man was as inscrutable as ever. Though he would not admit to his cultivation level, his access to high level treasures, demonstrated combat prowess, and the inability of anyone in the Golden Core realm to sense him proved he was at least Nascent Soul. The fact that he didn’t fear the strongest cultivators on the continent lent credence to the suspicion that he had reached even higher.
Kang Ya-Ting sighed, wishing he had more information. In the end, though, all he could do was base his decisions on the best data he had. If Chao Su thought he could defend himself from whatever forces were arrayed against him, then that was what they had to plan on.
That decision didn’t mean that they shouldn’t minimize the amount of enemies as much as possible, though. Sending a gift to the Swift Blizzard Sect should keep them neutral for the moment, and a properly worded apology to the City Lord would give him face and go a long way to preventing a response that was too severe.
On the other hand, Kang Ya-Ting had to also think about what actions would most benefit the Poison Claw Sect. If Chao Su really did destroy the Jade Chameleon’s branch sect in the city, that act would seriously decrease the sect’s prominence, turning the big three instantly into the big two.
Or back into the big three with the Rising Tide Sect ascending.
An all-out war in which Chao Su destroyed the Emperor and both the other sects completely would make the Poison Claw Sect … subordinate to their current friend.
Even if Chao Su didn’t desire that level of control, he would be granted it regardless as the winner. No one would consider the Poison Claw Sect as anything except a dog licking at its master’s heels.
No. It would be better for Chao Su’s true power to remain as hidden as possible. A big three featuring the neutral Swift Blizzard Sect, the small and somewhat subordinate Rising Tide Sect, and their strong ally, the ascendent Poison Claw Sect, would be perfect.
“This is what we should do…” Kang Ya-Ting said.
Benton quickly fired off two missives. The first one, addressed to the City Lord, apologized for Benton’s actions, laid out his case for the destruction of Jade Chameleon branch, and promised to appear in person at the City Lord’s palace as soon as the grounds had been destroyed. The second one, addressed to the Swift Blizzard Sect, introduced Benton to the sect leader, repeated the case for the destruction of the Jade Chameleon branch, and included a bribe to remain in his favor, a top heaven ranked cultivation method for ice aspected Foundation Establishment realm cultivators who used that element.
He almost laughed as he spent the forty Sect Points necessary to create the jade slip. At one point, he would have been apoplectic at the thought of losing that many points with little hope of regaining most of them. Looking at the nearly eight hundred points he retained, however, he just wasn’t worried about it.