Chapter 223: Free-Range Parenting?
Benton fretted about his decision for most of the afternoon, going back and forth in his head. One minute, he leaned on letting the twins go to Sixth Flawless Flowing City. The next, he changed his mind.
Ugh. The choice wasn’t complicated. On the “let them go” side, he had the benefit to the sect in allowing the pursuit of the two most important ventures possible at the moment and both the experience that his two disciples would gain and the world of good it would do them for him to express his belief in them.
On the “keep them home at all costs” side, they could die.
That was it. They could die. Simple. Easy to understand. Death. Final. He’d just buried Ye Zan and couldn’t bear to think about having to do the same for either Yang Xiu or Yang Ru.
It was the same decision he and Evelyn had had to make every time they let their children leave the house. There was always the possibility of something bad happening. They weren’t exactly free-range parents, but they leaned in that direction, believing that giving into fear set a poor example.
The current decision was different, though. Real danger awaited. The Jade Chameleon Sect was gunning for the Rising Tide Sect. Benton’s disciples would be targets. And targets of a sect tended to end up dead.
On the other hand, there were a few ticks in the “likely to avoid death” column. One, Kang Lin would be with them to help the twins avoid danger. Two, the twins were head and shoulders above other Foundation Establishment cultivators anywhere near their realm in terms of talent, available qi, and quality of techniques. Three, the Poison Claw Sect had promised support in any way possible.
A brilliant thought occurred to Benton. What if he let the twins go to the city, but he insisted on them having more advantages first? No one had used the Trial Pagoda yet that day. He could slot the twins in for today and tomorrow morning, making their permission to go contingent on advancing the level of their respective shields.
Mastery for those techniques carried the very important bonus feature of activating the fully automatic functionality of the shields. With that trait, the twins wouldn’t even need to be aware of an attack for them to be protected from it, making Benton feel a lot better about their probability of coming through the trip just fine.
And he could whip up something for them, right? Like…
A teleportation device maybe? That project would require the installation of a teleportation beacon at the sect grounds, though, and Benton didn’t have access to the necessary materials. Other than spending way too many Shop Points—more than he had available once he pulled the trigger on the tower formation schematics—he had no idea where or how to obtain those materials, either. They were all both rare and in demand by all sects who wanted teleportation beacons of their own.
So giving them a way to teleport out of danger was a non-starter.