Chapter 300: A Question of Leadership
Benton looked over the small assemblage gathered before him—Jin LiJuan and Ganzou, Zi Delan and the five that had made up his former gang, and Pan Jiang and four other Poison Claw Sect members—and unfortunately didn’t see experienced, powerful cultivators.
They were all so, so young!
Of course, Pan Jiang was an important scion in his sect and seemed to mature and grow more responsible by the day. And though Zi Delan had yet to fully develop into his role as a council member, the boy had street smarts that couldn’t be taught. Best of all, Ganzou was a powerful beast with excellent senses. He’d be a right terror for any cultivator or beast of a comparable realm.
Jin LiJuan, on the other hand… Well, she was trying. Not only was she quite diligent in practicing her techniques, but she also had made great strides in furthering her bond with her beast. And her power was greater than any of the other humans simply by virtue of having ascended to Foundation Establishment.
Benton blew out a breath. He had a decision to make.
“Greetings all,” he said. “Welcome to the start of the Rising Tide Sect’s second great expedition to the Eternal Celestial Peak.”
He had to suppress a chuckle at the fact that he was sending a dozen kids hunting at a nearby mountain and referring to it as a great expedition, but a certain amount of pretentiousness was expected when dealing with cultivators.
Well, that was a convenient excuse, anyway. If truth be told, he simply found it amusing.
“To begin with, we have a minor problem of preeminence and precedent.” He smiled—speaking of pretentiousness, his speech so far was a bit over the top. “Jin LiJuan, a Foundation Establishment cultivator who is our sect’s fourth most powerful member not counting myself, and Zi Delan, an august member of this sect’s council of elders but who is still in the Qi Gathering realm, will both be embarking on this journey. So who leads?
“Our sect is newly formed and lacking in rules and traditions, so as we go forward, we naturally seek to govern future situations based on the examples we set now. It makes sense for a sect to have the strongest member present on a mission lead. It also makes sense that a member who is a Pavilion head or otherwise sits on the council should be the leader.
“Today, the precedent I set when the two spheres of influence conflict is that leadership will be decided on a case-by-case basis.”
Benton paused a moment to make sure no one objected. Not that anyone would speak up, obviously, but if anyone exhibited body language that indicated disagreement, he would have sought to get that person’s opinion, but everyone simply nodded along.