The Undying Immortal System

Chapter 482 – Life 120, Age 58, Martial Lord Peak

As our carriage made its way back to Black Eagle City, I let my gaze settle on Kan, who was seated across from me.

“The Nine Rivers Domain has been dealt with. You don’t need to worry about them causing any further trouble.” I paused, then looked him in the eye. “How long will it take you to straighten out our sect’s internal problems?”

Worry flickered across Kan’s face. Instead of answering immediately, he leaned back, one hand resting against his knee as the carriage rocked around us.

“How long until we need to leave this domain?” he asked. “If there are no more attacks, I should be able to get things under control relatively quickly. But if we are forced back to Pale Mist Mountain, with everyone crowded together instead of ruling their own kingdoms, then the tensions could spiral out of control.”

A faint chuckle escaped me. “You do not need to worry about that.”

That got both Kan’s and YuLong’s attention. Kan straightened, while YuLong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“The Nine Rivers Domain is trying to recruit us,” I continued. “If we join them, we will be allowed to keep all the territory we have conquered.”

Kan raised an eyebrow. “You plan to abandon the Heroes Domain?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t yet decided. I was told I could take as long as I needed to consider the offer, with no time limit whatsoever. I intend to make use of this.”

Kan and YuLong exchanged troubled looks.

“For now, our territory within the Nine Rivers Domain will remain semi-autonomous,” I explained. “We are still members of the Heroes Domain, and we will continue to follow the Bureau’s regulations for First-Class Sects. However, until I make a final decision, we will take no further action against the Nine Rivers Domain.”

Neither the Nine Rivers Saint nor the Saint of Heroes would be pleased by my indecision. But the Nine Rivers Saint would gain our cooperation in their research, while the Saint of Heroes would gain access to my insights into body cultivation. This should be enough to buy time with both sides.

Kan slowly nodded, but the worry didn’t leave his face. “Then, I can probably get things under control within a few months, though it won’t be easy.”

“A few months,” I repeated. Then I leaned forward slightly, my tone turning colder. “Let me be clear, Kan. I need a sect—a clan—capable of generating high-level karmic energy. I hope that you can pull everyone together and build this for me. If you cannot…”

I let the sentence hang for a breath. “I will find someone else to serve as Sect Master.”

Kan stiffened, his hands tightening into fists atop his knees. His expression remained controlled, but only barely. The carriage fell silent except for the creaking of wood and the steady rhythm of the wheels.

After a moment, Kan lowered his head, but not before I caught a flicker of resentment in his eyes. “I understand.”

I watched him for another breath, then continued, my voice calmer, though no less firm. “I named myself our sect’s Supreme Elder because I am not a leader. I am a bulwark. I am the one who stands against enemy forces when they try to destroy us.”

I tapped a finger lightly against my knee. “You are the Sect Master. Leading is your responsibility.”

Kan let out a slow breath, but he didn’t argue.

“I taught you how to cultivate and how to craft talismans. YuLong taught you how to fight. Neither of us spent much time teaching you how to lead. That is our failing. Neither of us has ever been much of a leader.”

YuLong’s mouth twitched faintly, as if in agreement.

I kept my gaze on Kan. “Still, you have had forty years to learn. The Bureau offered all manner of courses in sect management, and although we are in the Nine Rivers Domain now, I have no doubt there are still plenty of people around who are willing to teach you.”

I paused, then spoke more pointedly. “If you need help, do not keep pushing forward blindly. Find someone who knows what they are doing and learn from them.”

Kan’s shoulders eased slightly, though the tension didn’t leave him entirely. He seemed relieved that I was offering him a path forward rather than simply condemning him.

“I…” He hesitated, then nodded. “I understand.”

There were almost certainly several forces listening in on our conversation, and I had no doubt that Kan would soon be approached with several offers of guidance. Even so, I already had a strong suspicion as to who would ultimately end up teaching him.

By telling Kan to find a teacher, I had opened the door wide enough for Mei to gain a foothold in our sect. Becoming Kan’s teacher would advance her mission, help the Nine Rivers Domain bring us into its fold, and further the Earthly Dao’s apparent desire to draw the two of us together.

Should I have been more careful about this? Possibly. But Mei had always possessed exceptional leadership skills, and I refused to believe that she would do anything as foolish as trying to turn Kan against me.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

No, if Mei became Kan’s teacher, she would teach him properly. Kan would improve, our sect would grow stronger, and I would gain a more valuable subordinate. As for what this might lead to in the future, that was a problem for another day. For now, I only needed results.

Upon our return to Black Eagle City, I sought out JiuLi and had a similar conversation with her.

As Sect Master, Kan was responsible for our sect’s overall direction and managed its relationships with external powers, both in war and in peace. As Grand Elder, JiuLi was supposed to be responsible for our sect’s internal power structure, ensuring the elders were ready and willing to support our Sect Master whenever necessary.

Like Kan, JiuLi had failed in this task. She had behaved too much like me, spending all her days in her workshop. If she wanted to devote all her attention to crafting, I wouldn’t stop her. But if she didn’t take a more active role in managing the sect, I couldn’t allow her to remain our Grand Elder.

Still, I was no more capable of helping her with this than I had been with Kan. So, I gave her the same message I had given him: go and find someone who can teach you how to be a better leader.

Maybe I should have taken more responsibility onto my own shoulders, but this wasn’t the role I had chosen for myself, and it wasn’t one I had any interest in pursuing.

Kan and JiuLi were our leaders. I would support them when necessary, but they had to be the ones to lead. If they didn’t want this job, I could find someone else to do it. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

That said, I needed to give them time to learn. I needed to stabilize our sect so it wouldn’t collapse before Kan and JiuLi had a chance to fix it.

There were three sources of instability that needed to be addressed: external enemies, the Elder Council, and the broader population of our territory.

My surrender had ended the war between the Nine Rivers Domain and the Heroes Domain, but the fighting was far from over. The former Rulers of the lands we occupied no doubt wanted them back, and they would pounce on any opportunity to reclaim what they had lost. The only difference was that these conflicts would need to follow the rules of intra-domain warfare rather than the rules governing invasions.

However, while these foreign rulers were certainly dangerous, they were not an imminent concern. So long as the formations I had placed around our cities held, our enemies could only posture and scheme. Anyone bold enough to attack would pay dearly for the attempt.

Once Kan learned what he needed to learn, he could go out and handle this threat himself.

Likewise, there was no need for me to interfere with the Elder Council. They were undermining Kan behind his back, but they had no reason to act openly. At this stage, removing him would win them nothing but a worthless title. Only when we started expanding toward an empire would they have cause to remove him from his position.

I had plans for our rise to empire, but they would take time—time enough for JiuLi to handle the Council herself.

This only left the problem of our territory’s civilian population.

No matter how many mortals joined forces, they would never be able to kill one of our Lords. They wouldn’t even be able to make it past the gates of the Lord’s manor. However, if enough of them shifted their allegiances, they could strip our City Lords of their positions without a fight.

This had already happened in four cities, and if we didn’t act immediately, the damage would continue to spread. Therefore, after my talk with JiuLi, I headed out to deal with this problem.

On my way out, I spotted Shi TieWen hard at work over his loom. Realizing I might need some assistance, I pulled him into my inner world and took him along to help with my next task.

My first destination was Broken Wing City, which lay along the border between the North Kingdom and the East Kingdom.

At first blush, everything in the city seemed to be functioning normally. The people did not appear especially happy, but that was only to be expected. Their expressions carried the dull resignation of those living under uncertain circumstances, not the anger of those preparing to rise up. On the surface, there were no signs of rebellion.

Even after concealing myself and roaming the city’s back alleys, I heard nothing about fighting the guards or moving against the City Lord. However, I did hear one name repeated constantly: “City Lord Zhentu.”

There was no Lord Zhentu in our sect. A quick check revealed that the Zhentu Clan had been the first to swear loyalty to us after the city fell. The clan’s patriarch must have sensed our weakness and decided to seize the city for himself.

However, learning this had been laughably simple. There was no way the current City Lord could have missed it. So why hadn’t he done anything about it? Did he have some kind of deal with this Lord Zhentu?

Given Broken Wing City’s location, I couldn’t help but wonder if this had all been arranged by Suba HaoRong in an effort to discredit Kan. Was Lord Zhentu one of HaoRong’s pawns? Possibly, but it didn’t matter. My only job was to stabilize the situation.

Rushing to the Zhentu Clan’s residence, I slipped inside and made my way to the basement, where the Zhentu Patriarch had holed himself up in his cultivation chamber. As soon as I entered, I released my hold over the ambient light and dark qi, allowing him to see me clearly.

“Zhentu WeiShan, you are accused of violating your oath to the Amorphous Blade Sect. Surrender now, and I may allow your clan to survive.”

My sudden appearance startled the old man, but only for a heartbeat. He quickly regained control of himself, then offered me a small, knowing smile. “I have betrayed nothing. My allegiance has always remained with the Nine Rivers Domain.”

He got to his feet with measured slowness, his expression composed. “If you wish to strike me down, then do so. But I am still just a Grandmaster, and you are an invading Lord. Under the rules of war, you have no right to touch me.”

He spread his arms in a gesture of peace. “But let’s not make this uglier than it needs to be. I will leave immediately, along with all those who wish to follow.”

Letting him take “all those who wish to follow” would mean hollowing out the city, making it entirely worthless. Thankfully, this wasn’t my only option.

My focus had always been on the Heroes Domain, so I wasn’t entirely familiar with all of the Nine Rivers Domain’s conventions for intra-domain warfare. However, I found it hard to believe that I would be forbidden from punishing the head of a clan that had sworn fealty to my sect, even if there was a difference in cultivation base.

Still, better safe than sorry.

Reaching into my inner world, I pulled out Shi TieWen, whom my avatar had already briefed on the situation.

The instant TieWen appeared, he sprang forward.

With a flick of his wrist, TieWen cast out a thin silk lasso that coiled around the Zhentu Patriarch and bound him before he could even make sense of what was happening. One moment, he was standing there, smug and composed. The next, he was trussed up and helpless.

Without wasting another moment, I pulled both men into my inner world and left for the next city. As for the Zhentu Patriarch, I would hand him over to Kan. This was his territory, and fixing it was his responsibility. I only needed to hold things together until he could take over.