Chapter 248: A New Old Disciple?
Benton was well aware that sects guarded their secrets to an absurd degree, and he didn’t want to become quite that paranoid. On the other hand, knowledge could be dangerous. The only thing keeping his sect from being destroyed was certain beliefs the opposing factions held about him. The less they knew for certain, the better.
Thus the reason he’d sent Kang Ya-Ting off.
Benton didn’t know what kind of spectacle, if any, would be created when he advanced to Nascent Soul, but it was better to get rid of anyone who might sense and interpret any emanations that resulted from the process.
Obviously, all the Qi Gathering cultivators weren’t a danger because they couldn’t even sense qi yet. The Foundation Establishment cultivators, honestly, weren’t all that much better with their lack of training so early in their journey. Besides, he trusted all three … oops, four … of them. And with Kang Ya-Ting gone there were no Golden Cores within range of Benton’s spiritual senses.
There was one big unknown left, however.
Yuan Yaozu seemed like a nice enough guy, but he wasn’t someone that Benton knew well yet. The only thing he could trust was the man’s vow as witnessed by the heavens—to protect the sect for one hundred years. Did that include the sect’s secrets? How much could he rely on the man to keep what he saw to himself? Shoot, Benton didn’t even know how much he could trust the man to not take advantage of situations for his own gain.
The conclusion was simple. Benton’s best bet was to get rid of the guy for a short time.
Sending a quick messenger dragon was all it took to summon the man to the Administration Hall, and less than two minutes passed between dispatching the flying origami and Sun Hua letting him into the office.
“Greetings, Sect Leader,” Yuan Yaozu said. “The guests you asked me to greet were sent packing. The one from the Jade Chameleon Sect left well before my arrival, and I gently persuaded the representatives from the City Lord and the Swift Blizzard Sect to be on their way.”
Benton frowned. While it was nice to get rid of the snoops, they’d seen everything that had happened, including his less than stellar performance against the enemy Nascent Souls. He was sure that, despite Kang Ya-Ting’s advice to keep the fight close, showing weakness was more likely to lead to a future confrontation than if he’s won an easy victory.
No use crying over spilt milk, though.
“Thank you,” Benton said. “I’m not sure if taking care of that issue for me counted as part of your vow or not, but I appreciate you doing it.”