Chapter 11

My master immediately followed on her flying sword.

“Where do we go?”

“Do you have a close friend who could shelter us for a while?”

“All my friends are in seclusion. After the uproar you’ve caused, no sect would dare take you in. Even if my friends weren’t in seclusion, they’d struggle to shelter us.”

“True.”

“Jinghong, a man may be innocent, yet the jade he carries makes him guilty. You’re only at Nascent Soul, holding so many treasures. Of course others will covet them. Have you a way out?”

“Let’s find somewhere to live first, Master. Then we can plan.”

“The world is vast, but there’s nowhere for us. The sects occupy all the good land. Must we hide in some random mountain cave like wild spirits?”

I thought for a moment.

“You’re right. Then there’s only one choice.”

I looked straight at her.

“Master, would you be willing to lead the Beast-Taming Sect?”

She stared.

“Lead it… me?”

“Yes.”

“But it already has a leader.”

“Replace him.”

She put a hand to her forehead.

“Even if I removed him, the other elders wouldn’t agree.”

“Replace them too.”

Standing on her flying sword, her robes fluttering in the wind, she remained silent a long while.

Then she sighed.

“All right.” She looked at me. “For my Jinghong, why shouldn’t I take a risk?”

24

The people of the Beast-Taming Sect never imagined I would turn back.

How ridiculous they were.

They knew my contract beast could rampage through the Lingtai Secret Realm and protect me amid a crowd of hostile cultivators.

Yet they still dared extort me.

Perhaps that was the force of habit. Once you were used to someone swallowing every humiliation, you couldn’t imagine her rising against you.

“Only kill the senior people,” I told Yin Hai. “Don’t eat everyone. We still need people to run the sect.”

She rolled her eyes.

“So troublesome.”

She complained, but obeyed.

The sect leader was the first she swallowed.

Then came the elders who rushed to avenge him.

In a blink, all became her meal.

She bared her fangs.

“They don’t taste good.”

I stroked her neck gently. “Once we finish here, I’ll give you something delicious.”

She glanced at me and gripped the back of my neck.

“Mo Jinghong, I’m not your dog. Don’t train me like one.”

I gave her a meaningful smile.

“Do you want it or not? If you don’t, I won’t offer.”

Her eyes darkened.

“You dare refuse to feed me?”

She leaned in to kiss me.

I stopped her hastily.

“After we finish.”

“Tsk.”

With the sect leader and elders dead, my master stepped forward to take charge and naturally became the new leader.

The disciples were quick to see which way the wind blew. After witnessing Yin Hai’s terrifying power, none dared argue. They obediently accepted my master.

But some objected.

My junior sister, for example.

The old sect leader was her father. When Yin Hai swallowed him, her scream reached the heavens.

She urged the Black Dragon and the others to avenge him.

None moved.

They had already witnessed Yin Hai’s power. Three small fry like them couldn’t resist it.

My master looked at my junior sister.

Power had changed hands completely. As the former leader’s daughter, she was an obvious target for a purge.

But my master wanted no more slaughter within the sect.

She glanced at me.

“Jinghong, perhaps…”

I nodded. “Whatever you decide, Master.”

Only then did she relax. She had feared her mercy would displease me.

After all, I had put her in this position. She could hardly quarrel openly with me before the seat was even warm.

Once we agreed, she expelled my junior sister and allowed her to take the three beasts.

My master was far too kind.

If it had been me… Hmph.

I suppressed those dark thoughts.

She always wanted to leave others a way to live. Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t pursue anyone to the bitter end.

She had always been much kinder than I was.

It was that kindness that made her love, care for, and trust me as her own daughter. That made her willing to oppose the world for me.

Having enjoyed its blessings, I couldn’t reject the less convenient consequences of her kindness.

* * *

She spent several days reorganizing the sect.

The former leader had run it for years largely through family connections.

Obey and live. Oppose and die.

Anyone who flattered him could rise high, however incompetent. Anyone capable, with ideas of their own, was suppressed or driven away.

The organization had become bloated and rotten. Even the smallest order was passed from person to person and seldom carried out—unless the leader went personally to each one and pleaded.

Utterly ridiculous.

Such management drained the sect of life. Factions fought and obstructed one another. Talented newcomers couldn’t rise. Policies that would help the sect went nowhere.

The lowest-ranked disciples contributed most and received least, living miserably.

Previously, my master had managed only Tianxing Peak. Taking on the whole sect didn’t frighten her.

Anyone who refused the new orders was told to pack and leave immediately.

The expelled officials shouted furiously.

“You’ll destroy the Beast-Taming Sect! Without us, let’s see you manage it! No one will obey you! You’re bringing ruin on yourself!”

She treated them as though they were putting on a play.

Three-legged toads might be rare.

Two-legged officials certainly weren’t.

She recruited talent from the bottom.

Many long-suppressed disciples were promoted. To them, it was rain after a drought.

Never in their lives had they expected a chance to hold their heads high.

In the cultivation world, once you joined a sect, you couldn’t simply change allegiance. You would be condemned for betraying your master and ancestors and beaten until your soul scattered.

By the time they realized our sect was a rotten swamp, they could no longer leave.

They had only gritted their teeth and endured.

Who would have thought they would finally live to see a better day?

My master had come. Heaven had finally opened its eyes!