Chương 266: Story 11 - How to Save a Sect in Six Simple Steps (Part 40/41)

"So we've agreed. For every five times we send aid to the Irrepressible Beast Blood sect, they'll reciprocate three times." Dominant Restraint Master rubbed his bruised nose. Peerless Cacophony leaned forward with a bright smile.

"We'll also exchange two hostages—""Diplomats," Noxious corrected. She scowled, but continued.

"A pair of diplomats every ten years. If they're strong enough in their realm, they'll have the chance to represent the sect they are visiting in the Inter-sect Tournament. We'll ensure their safety while they're within the sect, and, if the diplomat dies while under protection, compensation will be provided at the terms we discussed earlier."

"Of course," Dominant Restraint Master said, "If they die in the tournament, on a mission outside, fighting the demonic sect, or during their tribulation, then no compensation will be necessary. If that happens, we'll replace both sets of representatives." Everyone nodded. While I had been off in epiphany-land making my mural, the two sects had invited an orthodox clerk to write the contract for the treaty. She'd used to work for that asshole city lord and was fairly accomplished.

Unfortunately, she had never created such a high-level contract like this before. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she quickly pieced together each talking point we'd agreed on and fully wrote out the terms. Her brush hit the table after she finished, and she blew on the ink to help it dry. An elder from the Harmonious Sound Sect leaned toward her and gestured to me. She nodded, stood up, and handed it to me. What, seriously? The elders and sect leaders peeked at me.

Some hid their nervousness while others openly bit their lips. Fuck. This was why I tried not to show off my Dao of Paperwork. It was too impressive, and now they wanted me to work for free! Whatever. I was getting something out of this, too. I scanned it, scowled, then expanded a few clauses to make them less vague but still have enough elasticity to handle unforeseen circumstances. When I held the paper up to the light and used my divine sense to study its enchantment, I frowned.

The one she applied was fine but not great. I adjusted it so that it would bind the three parties better. No way would I let them get out of this treaty so easily after all the work I put into making it happen. Once finished, I sent a telepathic message with the full contents to the leaders and elders so they could review it.

"Is everyone satisfied with the terms of this treaty?"

"Yes, Elder Linin!"

"It's fine."

"I'm satisfied." I handed it to the clerk to make three clean copies.

"Incredible. If you can do this like that, then..." she whispered while copying everything over perfectly, including the enchantments. Then she tossed them to me before swiftly flying off. In the direction she left, epiphany energy began to fall down. Everyone stared at me. The expression of that Leashed Claws sect leader seemed particularly greedy. Damn it. My Dao of Paperwork was too powerful. I cleared my throat.

"What a strange, random coincidence! Good for her." Little Spring covered his eyes and looked pained. Whatever. I brought the papers to each of the leaders and had them sign all three copies, and everyone there who wanted to sign all three copies.

"And with that," Wild Hoof said, "the Three Sect Treaty between the orthodox and unorthodox is in effect!" Yes! Step 6 was complete! Fairy Peerless Cacophony gestured to me, "Collect your things, Little Linlin! You're coming to my Harmonious Sound Sect as a diplomat!" Muahahaha! Just as I planned. I was about to grab Little Spring's sleeve and tell her that we were both coming with her when that domineering Leashed Claws sect leader raised his voice.

"Hold on. Why do you automatically assume Junior Linlin here will go to your sect? She could easily come to mine!" And be put to work doing paperwork for the next two years while running my ass off from all the beasts there? Fuck that!

"Besides," he continued, "this young man would do well in my sect. I get the feeling that they're a matched set, much like their armor." Little Spring turned to Domineering Restraint Master and bowed.

"Senior, is it true that your sect is in the north?" He frowned.

"Yes." The kid nodded.

"Then, as long as I get the chance to enter the Inter-Sect Tournament, I'll work there as a visiting diplomat. But I think Elder Linlin would do better in the Harmonious Sound Sect. You might remember when I explained how spiritual beasts keep attacking her for no reason? Well, your training methods can't stop them. At least, not like the Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect's can." The old man frowned.

"Are you sure you'd be willing to separate from your older martial sister?" He nodded.

"I'm willing!" Excuse me. The fucking what?! I turned to stare at the kid. No. This brat wasn't leaving just to go search for more information about some supposed island of immortals, right? The old man beamed.

"Good! Recently, I've noticed that my sect's disciples have been matching the energy and tactics of the demonic cultivators. Unfortunately, I see now that this happened because some of them had lost their way. You'd be a welcome influence." Little Spring bowed. I smiled at everyone, then grabbed the brat's sleeve and pulled him closer to me.:: What the fuck are you doing? You were supposed to come with me to the Harmonious Sound Sect.:: That was the whole reason I negotiated for two ambassadors!

:: Sister Lin, I have to do this. I need to research the people of Immortal Island and the Blue Wave Clan. I have to see them for myself! That sect is the only one close enough.:: If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.:: I thought you agreed to wait until you were older!:::: That... won't work for me.:::: The fuck do you mean by that?!

:::: If I don't go there and find out more about my mother's enemy, I'll never be able to call down my lightning tribulation. I'll never move past Foundation Establishment.:: He smiled sheepishly.:: You were right when you warned me to not make my symbol of revenge part of my cultivation.:: I breathed in slowly, closed my eyes, and concentrated on my dantian.

As someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment who just went through an additional fucking epiphany, I should be able to melt my foundation and call my tribulation at any time. But I couldn't. For whatever reason, Golden Core was out of my reach. Motherfucker! I didn't know if it was because of the brat, but if it was, I could not afford to keep him away from the island. But I also couldn't join him. The training of the beasts in the Leashed Claws sect was terrible.

If I went there, I wouldn't last until the tournament. Eventually, I would become weak from fighting off those high-ranking beasts and using up all my defensive talismans. They'd kill me then. Or I'd have to fucking hide in his space for two years, and that would drive me insane. I had too many things I had to research, and part of that couldn't only be done if I had enough freedom of movement. But I couldn't let a child go off by himself, even if he was this whole damned universe's protagonist.

So what the fuck was I supposed to do?:: I'll be fine, Sister Lin. You can trust me.:::: Hah!:: Wait. I wasn't the only adult here, was I? I was just the only adult who had a physical body... one that wasn't even technically grown up. I brought out a rock from the space and quickly carved a phoenix into it.:: Take Ghosty with you everywhere you go. Never take his necklace off. Understood?:: He nodded. I pulled out another strand of my will and embedded it inside the stone.:: Break this if you need my help.

I won't be able to reach you immediately, so crush it, then hide in your space. I'll find you. And I'll bring backup.:: He grinned.:: I'll definitely do that!:: Why did I think he definitely wouldn't? Right, because he was a damn protagonist. They never fucking ask for help. He gestured to everyone who was looking at us. Shit, this wasn't the right place for this. I cleared my throat.

"Then I will go to the Harmonious Sound Sect and be the best diplomat I can be there."

"Good!" Peerless Cacophony said, while smugly glancing at that fucker, Domineering Restraint Master. I held up a finger.

"That said, my partner on this mission needs to be someone who is very charismatic and outgoing, or I'll overshadow them with my mere presence." Little Spring cleared his throat. His ears had turned very red, probably from being outside for so long.

"Seniors, we'll go pack our things and join you on your ships." They nodded and waved us off. As we started to leave, Wild Hoof rubbed his temples and shot us a glare.

"You're not leaving me here to decide on your partners by myself, right?" I grinned.

"Junior sect leader, I may be an elder, but you're the one who knows this sect the best."

"Good luck, junior sect leader!" Little Spring said.

"We're confident that you can quickly find the best diplomats this sect has. Ones so charismatic and clever that they can do their diplomatic mission even without us." I formed the rock on devil horns for encouragement.

"You got this!" He scowled, but that just made us move faster. Fairy Cacophony tapped the table in front of her and stared at Noxious Fangstrike.

"Now that everything's settled. I request that you swiftly release our sect members. Their safe return was included in the treaty." Domineering Restraint Master crossed his arms.

"And don't forget to give them their antidote doses!" Noxious nodded gracefully, but I could tell that he wanted to roll his eyes at their demand.

"I still have to concoct them all. Which I'll do right now. Excuse me."

On our way back to the sect, I pulled my in-name disciple aside into one of the half-destroyed courtyards and set up a quick obfuscation formation.

"What is it?" I held out my hand.

"Give me a spatial ring with a large capacity." While I had a good one, the size wasn't nearly enough. Not when I would need the extra space for all the projects I had planned. He scowled.

"I thought you were prepared for this trip?"

"Well, I was..." Who wouldn't be prepared with a goddamn giant spatial tool as incredible as the kid's space?

"Then the brat decided to do something that is apparently necessary for his cultivation." He sighed and pulled a ring off his finger. He then went through the effort of removing a shit ton of treasures from it and putting them inside his other storage items.

"This is taking forever."

"Do you want the ring or not?"

"Of course." He removed another treasure and scowled.

"This is my best ring, you know?"

"But it's not your favorite." He distractedly grunted in agreement. His most precious spatial ring was a simple one that Dread Lotus gifted him last year.

"Don't worry. Once I reach Immortal Bone Creation, I'll bring you a much better one." He cursed as he placed a few more random items into his rings while taking out others. Apparently, he was having a hard time finding inventory space.

"So I should expect your next visit to be in a millennium or so?"

"Ha! Not if I can help it. If you don't see me in 200 years, you should seek revenge."

"I will… if I'm still alive."" Just get gud," I said in English. He scowled.

"What?"

"Nothing. You wouldn't understand."

"I feel like I would if you explained it." With a wave of his hand, he removed his mark on the ring and handed it to me. I used a drop of my blood to claim it as my own and put it on my middle finger. When I looked up from admiring the red gem on the gold ring, I noticed him looking at me with an expression I'd never seen on his face before. He clasped his hands and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Master Lin. The sect and I owe you more than we can ever repay." Ah, shit. I might just miss this in-name disciple of mine as much as I'll miss my friend.

"Get up." When he did so, I raised a finger.

"Do me a favor. Take care of your niece." Before he could say the obvious, I continued, "And don't die."

"I'll do my best, Master Lin." The corners of his lips turned up.

[Image Link] After I returned to my immortal cave, I activated my obfuscation array and entered the space. The place was practically unrecognizable, having grown several tall hills which incorporated the fancy buildings we looted from the city lord. Waterfalls flowed into Fairy Lake, which then overflowed into several irrigation streams that naturally watered my spiritual herb garden. The mountains that were in the distance appeared smaller, showing that they'd been pushed farther back as the land had expanded.

The biggest change came from the addition of spiritual flora that I hadn't added, which meant that the dragon had added them for their aesthetics. The home we had, which had originally been a little shack, then a palace, was now twice the size. It gleamed with real golden accents and extra embellishments. I picked up Ghosty's necklace that was sitting on my favorite marble table and wiggled it until the man's soul appeared over it. He covered his mouth with a fist, doing his best to hide a yawn.

"That damn dragon always puts me to sleep when it upgrades."

"Have a good rest?" I grinned.

"No. But I'm fine. What do you want?" I quickly explained the kid's situation to him.

"So, what do you need me to do? I can help a little by protecting the kid when things become too dangerous, but it will drain my limited energy." I sighed.

"I don't know... Just be his guardian and get him to the tournament on time."

"So, teach him what I should, punish him when he does something stupid, and only praise him if he accomplishes an unbelievably incredible task?"

"..." I was pretty sure that was how kids developed emotional damage as adults, but I wasn't anything close to a proper guardian either, so what did I know?

"Sure. Also, watch his back. He's going to research that Island of Immortals like a damn fool. I can't stop him. And, as his elder martial sister, I shouldn't interfere with his revenge." He nodded.

"I'll do what I can."

"I'm counting on you." He paused.

"So, if it comes down to his research or the tournament, which should I prioritize?" I confidently held my chin up.

"Getting home, of course."

"Even if it means that he can't increase his realm?"

"In a decade or two, we'll be able to hire others to research that island for us from anywhere in the world. It's more important to get to the tournament and rejoin the Indomitable Will Sect." He stroked his short beard.

"What if we can't make it? Are you going to leave us here?" His spine straightened, and his shoulders tensed. I sighed and looked out at the new, pink lotus flower sitting in our calm lake.

"If that happens, I'll return by myself. You two should find your own way back... but I can convince one of the sect ancestors to collect you two." He relaxed.

"However, that will cost me. Those ancestors are mercurial bastards who never work at a loss. So if you make me resort to that, then all the spirit stones I earn for the next century will go to paying off the loan I'll have to take out."

"..."

"That means I can't afford the supplies to make your new body. At least not for well over a hundred years." His ghostly face paled, and he nodded seriously.

"I understand, Fairy Lin. I won't fail you!"

"Good."