Though Benton had never regretted his choice of careers back on Earth, he had to admit that his life hadn’t been the most exciting. Besides a few nice trips—seeing the Colosseum in Rome and glowing lava flowing across a nighttime landscape at Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii stood out—most of the big events he’d experienced centered around his family. He grinned thinking about the birth of his first grandchild.
That was then, though, on a whole different planet. He’d been given the opportunity to start fresh, to experience a life of excitement and adventure, and he planned to embrace that chance.
So far, so good, too. The decision to become a sect leader, though maybe not as powerful as the other two choices, fit him perfectly. The only hiccup so far was Su’s instincts telling him that the demonic cultivators might track him down if they ever discovered that he lived. Still, if his grandson’s stories were any indication, having a System would make all the difference even against the greatest of odds. He just had to leverage the power it provided.
Speaking of which, a box popped up.
Prepare for System integration. Beginning in ten seconds.
(Hint: It’s good that you’re already seated.)
Knowing what to expect after the last such warning, Benton braced himself. Not that it would do any good.
His atypical pessimism turned out to be on target, as the searing pain inflicted inside his skull rivaled the memory integration in intensity. The experience did seem to pass quicker, at least. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to endure too many more instances like that.
The musing instantly brought a subset of Su’s memory to the fore, clearly telling him that to be a cultivator was to embrace pain. Challenging the heavens was not for the weak or timid.
Great.
The next popup box made the pain worth it.
Welcome System Host! The Sect Leader System is designed to help you build a sect that will defy the heavens. Sect Name: Not Chosen Sect Members: 0 Sect Points: 100 Shop Points: 0 Host Cultivation: None Host Techniques: None Menus: [Cultivation Method] [Technique] [Quest] [Perk] [Advancement] [Shop - LOCKED]
Gaining access to a System was everything that Benton had expected and more. It was just so neat. He couldn’t wait to get started.
The first two lines were self-explanatory. He’d not established a sect yet, chosen a name for it, or recruited any members.
The next line, though, seemed important.
“System, what are Sect Points?”
Sect Points are a resource used to create cultivation methods and techniques for sect members. When members advance a minor realm using one of the cultivation methods so created, Host will receive one point. Bonus points will be awarded upon advancement to the next major realm. A Sect Point is likewise awarded when a member advances to Lesser Success of a technique so created and then to Great Success and two points when advancing to Mastery.
Sect Points can also be used to advance Host’s cultivation and understanding of techniques.
Okay. That was pretty understandable. Benton would make an investment of points by creating a cultivation method and/or technique for a member and would, hopefully, gain a profit when that member advanced. The minor downside was that the point pool drawn from to invest in his members was the same one used to make himself stronger. He’d have to manage the usage carefully as he doubted there was any way to run a debt. If, for instance, he decided to immediately use all one hundred points to make himself strong, there would likely be no way for him to ever gain any more.
“System, what are Shop Points?”
Sects run on resources, and a beginning sect simply isn’t likely to run across enough assets on which to build a solid foundation. Through completing quests and reaching certain milestones, Shop Points will be awarded to assist Host in gaining crucial resources, be it pills, weapons, talismans, or materials and tools needed to build formations.
(Hint: Shop Points are provided in limited quantity. It is advised to pursue other means of acquisition, such as purchasing from merchants or training sect members in the arts of production, to the greatest extent possible.)
That explanation was, as his grandkids would say, #asexpected.
The next two lines were a bit concerning but not exactly surprising considering Su’s memories. His cultivation had been reset to the beginning. The good thing was that, if he was understanding things correctly, all he had to do was use points to increase his level, so there was presumably no worry about any potential damage done by the demonic cultivator’s attack interfering with his future advancement.
As someone who’d previously reached the middle of the Foundation Establishment Realm, Su’s instincts were making him feel more than a little anxious about sitting in the depths of a forest with no cultivation at all, tempting Benton to spend some of those points immediately. He resisted that urge, however. There was no way he would move from his current location before making himself stronger, and he’d obviously spend the necessary points quickly if anything threatening emerged into the clearing around the pond. Until then, he felt like he had time to gain more information by exploring all the tabs before making any decision.
“System, please show me the Cultivation Method menu.”
Welcome, Host, to the Cultivation Method Creation Menu.
Select Cultivation Realm:
Qi Gathering
Foundation Establishment
Golden Core
Nascent Soul
Nihility
Ascension
Half Immortal
True Immortal
Immortal King
Immortal Emperor
Heavenly Saint
Celestial Being
Su’s instincts boggled at that list. Some of those realms existed only as rumors of legends, but presumably, the System would allow him to create cultivation methods for them. Did that mean all he had to do to reach those realms was earn enough points? That was a question for much later, though. He needed to focus on what was important for the beginning of his journey.
“System, can I go through the process of creating a cultivation method without spending any points?”
Host will be given the choice to commit at the end of the creation process. If commitment is declined, no Sect Points are charged.
Perfect!
“System, for this test case, I select Golden Core.”
Cultivation Realm set to Golden Core.
Sect Point Factor set to four.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Select Applicability:
Targeted to Specific Qi Aspect
Sliding Scale (Specify)
Any Qi Aspect
Benton understood little of details of that menu, so he had a lot of questions.
“System, what is the Sect Point Factor?”
The Sect Point Factor is the number by which the initial value of the cultivation method will be multiplied to calculate the final value of Sect Points required to create the method. The Sect Point Factor for the Qi Gathering Realm is one. Foundation Establishment is two. Nascent Soul is eight. And so on.
Wow. That progression would get expensive fast. He’d have to carefully watch his points if he didn’t want a single Immortal Emperor to bankrupt his entire sect.
“System, what is a qi aspect?”
Each user’s qi is uniquely aspected to that individual. Two users might both posses a fire aspect, but one may be the smokey flame burning wet wood in a campfire in order to char spirit beast meat while the other may be the glowing embers in the hearth of a fireplace used to warm a family. Cultivation methods may be tailored specifically to a particular qi user’s aspect. In that case, the method would be much more difficult to cultivate and would be much less powerful for anyone not possessing that exact aspect. Methods may be more generally applied to a broader category such as fire or set to apply to any qi user. The broader the application, the more Sect Points are required to be used.
Okay. That made a lot of sense.
“System, how many Sect Points are required to target a specific user’s aspect?”
The initial value to apply a cultivation method to a unique qi aspect is ten.
Ouch. That number was a full ten percent of his starting value.
“System, how many points will be returned when a Qi Gathering member reaches Foundation Establishment?”
Assuming the member started from the beginning of the Qi Gathering Realm with a created method, the total Sect Points earned when the member reaches Foundation Establishment is twelve.
Yikes. The profit margin was kind of low.
“System, if we apply the same scenario going from the start of Foundation Establishment all the way to Golden Core, would the member return twenty-four points from an initial investment of twenty?”
Host’s calculations are correct.
“System, if I were to create a Qi Gathering method and set the Applicability to any aspect, what would the cost be?”
The Sect Points required to create a cultivation method for the Qi Gathering realm that is accessible to all qi users is twenty-five.
Ouch. Double ouch. That quantity was one quarter of his initial funds.
“System, how much would a sect member going from beginning to Foundation Establishment with that method earn me?”
The same as with the previous example. A member starting from the beginning of the Qi Gathering realm with a created method will earn you a cumulative total of twelve Sect Points upon reaching Foundation Establishment.
Wait. That answer didn’t make sense.
“System, so I’d lose thirteen Sect Points?”
For that one member, Host would lose thirteen Sect Points. Correct.
That qualification at the start of the answer was interesting. Benton was apparently missing something important.
“System, can I give the same method to multiple sect members?”
Yes.
“System, how many sect members can use the same method and what is the additional cost per member?”
The Sect Leader System does not regulate the number of members that may use a cultivation method or technique, and Sect Points are only charged for the initial creation.
That meant that the number of points that he could earn for his twenty-five-point investment was essentially infinite. At a return of twelve points per member, almost everything the third member on earned would be pure profit.
Targeting the method to a specific person was cheaper, but it had a much lower profit ceiling. Unless he was bingo on points, why would he ever choose to use that option?
“System, besides the reduced cost, is there any other advantage to tailoring a method to a unique qi?”
A user cultivating a method perfectly suited to their unique qi aspect will find that advancement between realms comes faster and easier, more power is obtained, and a better foundation is built than if the user had used an equivalent, broader method.
Okay. The whole thing was starting to make a lot more sense. If you have an awesome recruit that you want to be ultra powerful, feed that recruit uniquely attuned methods and techniques. Meanwhile, profit from the sect’s rank and file who are stuck using the generic ones.
That setup was not as egalitarian as his Earth sensibilities wanted, but according to Su’s memories, that was just the way a cultivation world worked. There simply weren’t enough resources for everyone to receive the best ones.
And that standard operating procedure really made sense given the numbers that System had thrown at him. Ten points here and ten points there and twenty-five over there and he’d be flat busted in a heartbeat. Waiting a year or two to gain a measly profit of two points was just too slow.
The other side of the coin was that his sect was going to need protection, and the higher ranked members were simply going to be better equipped to provide that than anyone else. Benton had no choice but to prioritize talent when it came to spending.
“System, please proceed with the creation process. I choose Sliding Scale, any qi user that has an aspect even tangentially related to fire may use.”
Sliding Scale selection accepted.
Please allocate 100 Cultivation Method Creation Points in the following three categories:
Ease
Power
Foundation
Based on the previous answer, he felt pretty good about what those three categories meant. But it was better to make sure, starting with the absolute basics.
“System, what do these categories actually do?”
Cultivation Methods provided by the Sect Leader System are, in general, easier to use, produce more powerful results, and build a stronger foundation than the cultivation methods commonly found on this world. The categories allow the Host to add bonuses to each of these categories.
“Okay, System, what I heard is that my sect member will already be better off than those of other sects just from the base cultivation method without any of the Creation Points being used, but you’re making the method so overpowered that I can add a bonus to any or all of these categories on top. Correct?”
Yes.
Benton asked in turn about each of the three categories. Ease was a measure of the difficulty of using a method. A sect member would be able to progress from the start to the peak of each minor realm using a method with Ease set to one hundred much faster than with a method that had Ease set to zero.
Power in the context of the creation menu referred to how much qi the cultivation method would add to the sect member’s pool with each advancement and how much the method would increase the strength of the sect member’s intrinsic qi aspect.
Foundation was a measure of the stability of cultivation developed by using a method. A sect member would be able to breakthrough from the peak of a minor or major realm to the next using a method with Foundation set to one hundred much easier than with a method that had Foundation set to zero.
All three categories were important considerations for a cultivator, and the fact that Benton could determine how much weight to give each was amazing.
He thought he understood the hundred points as well but wanted to make sure.
“System, please elaborate on how the points are distributed and what the exact impact of those are.”
Cultivation Method Creation Points allow the Host to customize a cultivation method to fit the sect’s priorities. If the Host desires a method that is balanced between the three, set two categories to thirty-three and the third to thirty-four. If the Host prioritizes cultivation speed above all else, set Ease as the highest of the three. Likewise for Power if strength is desired above all else, and Foundation if advancement to the next major realm is all important.
That explanation really clicked with Benton. He’d really need to think about what was most important to him. Did he need his members to ascend the realms as quick as possible or to be able to easily defeat opponents of the same realm or was increasing the height the members could eventually reach the most important criterion?
“System, please set Foundation to fifty, Power to twenty-five, and Ease to twenty-five.”
Cultivation Method Creation Point allocation selection accepted.
Please provide a name for Host's cultivation method.
Ugh. Benton hated naming things.
“System, please name the method the Supremely Ultimate Heaven Defying Blaze of Glory but for Test Purposes Only Method.”
Name accepted.
Congratulations, Host, on the creation of the Supremely Ultimate Heaven Defying Blaze of Glory but for Test Purposes Only Method!
Would Host like to create this method for eighty Sect Points?
Yeah, that was a hard no. Still, he wanted to make sure he understood the process before he officially declined.
“System, could you display the calculation method used to arrive at eighty points?
Applicability set to Sliding Scale (all qi aspects even tangentially related to fire): Initial Value = 20 Sect Points
Sect Point Factor = 4.
Total Sect Points = 20 x 4 = 80
Good. He’d successfully grokked the explanations. Perfect.
“System, I do not want to create this method. Please delete it.”
Decision not to create the cultivation method accepted.
Host has 100 Sect Points Remaining.
That was fun. Benton couldn’t wait to see what was next.