7: Now what?

Upon returning to the sect, and after greeting my terrified teacher (I can only assume he was hoping I’d die out there), I visited the library. Having finally completed my foundation, I’d be allowed access to books on more advanced techniques. They often present it as a privilege to be obtained as reward for the achievement of creating one’s foundation, but it’s obviously just that these books teach techniques which can only be used by one with a foundation. The amount of ki required is simply too high for anyone without a foundation.

As I browse the techniques I see, and contemplate how they work, it’s not hard to tell that using such techniques before completing one’s foundation would damage one’s meridians. A proper foundation strengthens the entire body’s ki flow, enabling it to withstand much greater strain. Even if one used artifacts to bypass the ki requirements, the strain on the body would ruin it.

Unfortunately, despite taking the time to read through every book that looked even slightly useful, nothing seems properly suited to the foundation I have built. I guess I’ll have to develop my own techniques. 

...

Head of the Soothing Wind sect’s view:

When I heard about the massive bounty upon a young lady’s head, I thought it’d be easy money. Instead, I learned something terrifying. 

Over one hundred students of other sects killed in contests? No big deal.

My own students returning with reports of feeling they were outmatched and could not risk continuing? Disturbing, but not scary.

Discovering my students have gotten poisoned by the same poison that killed the former sect head? Terrifying.

Now, admittedly, the technique she used is nowhere near as refined or deadly as my own. However, I’d been very careful to keep the technique a secret. If people learned of it, then techniques to defend against it may spread. This technique is my secret trump card. It is how I’ve defeated cultivators much stronger than I, and how I became the head of this sect. This woman’s very existence is dangerous to me. Using such a weak version of the technique, means some victims will live and recover, and may have time to figure out what the technique is, and devise a defense. If defenses against it spread, my position will be threatened.

Unfortunately, if I move to kill her myself, there’s no way the other elders won’t use that as an excuse to gang up against me and kill me. It’s an unspoken rule, that one does not attack the younger generations without good cause, and I can’t exactly tell them why I want her dead. The people I can send to kill her, would probably lose, unless I teach them how to defend against that technique… but that would mean teaching people how to defend against my trump card. I don’t want to do that.

Perhaps I can convince others to kill her for me.

…

Head of the Rising Mount sect’s view

Strange. I’ve been receiving a lot of letters lately, all demanding the same thing: That a certain high profile student be killed, handed over, or expelled from the sect. 

Normally, I’d just refuse and ignore such demands, but this is truly an unprecedented number of them from far more people in much higher positions of authority than normal. I’ve actually gotten letters from the heads of other sects! 

On top of all this, the person in question is just a water root. Even if I protect her, there’s no reason to believe she can bring glory and power to our sect. She might be doing well now, but we do not have the resources for such a person to excel. If she’d been earth or fire root, or even wood root, I think we could treat her as a rising star. A water root though… I don’t think it’s possible for a water root to rise to greatness in this sect. We only have techniques up to the third major rank in water.

Thus, I can only conclude that expelling her from the sect is the best course of action. Without protection, she will probably die, but even if I try to protect her, it’d only delay the inevitable.