Chapter 336: Huh?
Benton had escorted a small contingent of the Rising Tide Sect to watch Kang Lin’s first match in the low Foundation Establishment division, one she easily dominated. Which was to be expected. The first round pitted the top non-A talents, who all had byes, against the worst of the participants.
Since there was no reason for the Poison Claw Sect to re-test Kang Lin’s spiritual roots, she entered the tournament with them thinking she still was C+ ranked, which put her in the next tier down. That ranking was still plenty high enough, though, that she faced an extremely weak opponent.
After escorting the kiddos back to the compound, Benton Teleported to Kang Ya-Ting’s study for a pre-arranged meeting.
“Greetings, Friend Su. Elder Dai had other duties and couldn’t attend today.”
“No problem,” Benton said. “Anything I should know?”
“That depends. You haven’t expressed much interest in the tournament manipulations by our friends in the Jade Chameleon and Swift Blizzard Sects to this point, but I personally am disturbed by the lengths of their audacity.”
The elder clearly had something he wanted to reveal, and when your friend had a juicy piece of gossip he wanted to share, the polite thing to do was indulge him.
“Go ahead and let me hear it,” Benton said. “Worst-case scenario, I’ll simply ignore it.”
Kang Ya-Ting explained how the bracket was set up and, with how things were likely to work out, who the twins and Kang Lin would be facing in the third round. Honestly, the JCSB alliance apparently underestimated the girls, and Benton was positive they’d come through like champs. Yang Ru, on the other hand, would face an opponent he quite simply was not prepared for.
What to do?
On one hand, a loss in the tournament was inconsequential, especially for Yang Ru. The once boy was steadily transforming into a mature young man, one who knew his worth. Not advancing wouldn’t negatively impact him in the least. He’d simply learn what he could from the experience and move on.
Benton was proud as punch of the person Yang Ru was becoming.