As soon as Benton dropped the news about the invitation to the tournament, Yang Xiu’s face lit up like one of his kids back on Earth finding their pile of presents on Christmas morning. The expressions of the other council members definitely showed interest, but none held the sheer joy of hers. He couldn’t help but grin at seeing her so excited.

    “You apparently appreciate the news,” Benton said. “Want to explain why?”

    “Every cultivation novel I’ve ever read has a tournament arc, Master! The lowly underdog main character is looked down on by all her opponents, but in the end, she beats them all. I love those chapters and can’t wait to live them.”

    Benton wanted to shake his head. Books. Of course. On the other hand, he liked that she could be the star of the movie of her life that ran in her head. Given what she’d gone through to get where she was, she deserved that happiness, and the fact that she could shake off the bad times was proof of her resilience.

    “Well, Yang Xiu and others who might be excited about the news, too, I hate to disappoint you, but the invite was not all sunshine and roses,” Benton said. “It was arranged to be sent to us through the actions of the Jade Chameleon Sect. I’ve discussed the matter with various Poison Claw Sect elders and with Yuan Yaozu. We don’t know what benefit our enemies hope to gain from our attendance, but we all agree that they seek to gain something.”

    Yang Xiu’s expression turned absolutely crestfallen. “We’re not going?”

    “There is risk,” Benton said. “We could be attacked. I could be ambushed. You could be targeted to be used against me. Any or all of that is on the table, or it could be something none of us have foreseen.”

    “We’re not going,” Yang Xiu said sadly.

    “On the other hand, it has been pointed out to me that protecting a cultivator from danger can adversely affect their path,” Benton said, “and the tournament offers a lot of advantages to the participants. It gives you a challenge to shoot for. It will provide a measuring stick against your peers in other sects. You’ll gain experience fighting cultivators with styles and qi aspects that aren’t available in our sect. And there are contests for craftspeople as well. Being able to observe how others prepare pills and forge metals might provide you inspiration to propel you forward. If not for the risk of harm from our enemy attacking, I’d say participation in the tournament is nothing but a positive for each of you that has the opportunity.

    “Additionally, this represents a big opportunity for our sect. Even if the intentions are less than honorable, we’re being recognized as a force by the four factions. That recognition, once given, can’t be taken back. As long as we attend, that is. If we refuse the invitation, we’re basically saying, ‘Sorry, but we’re not nearly as strong as you think we are.’

    “So lots of positives. A big potential negative. What’s my decision?”

    Benton looked out over the faces of the nineteen people staring at him. Not a person in the room wasn’t giving him their rapt attention.

    “My decision is that I’ve decided not to make the decision,” Benton said.

    Just as they were prepared for the big crescendo of him revealing the choice, he’d confused them thoroughly. He did so love thwarting expectations.

    “In some other sects, the council of elders holds true power, able to overrule the sect leader. In all sects, the council at the very least provides wise counsel to the sect leader. Most of you have barely stepped on your path to challenging the heavens. You need experience. You need to make decisions for yourselves and learn to live with the consequences.

    “Each person in this room other than me gets one vote. Stay, as in don’t accept the invitation, or Go, as in we participate in the tournament. When one side gets ten votes, the die is cast.

    “You are free to use your time to advocate for your position, but you don’t have to. As a member of this council, though, you must take a stand, choose a side. No abstaining. No sitting on a fence. We’ll go in order in which you became my disciple. Yang Xiu?”

    She paused for a moment, obviously considering. “Obviously, I want to go despite the danger, but the reason is not just for personal glory. My master and my sect have given me so much, and I think they are both worthy of respect. I want to do my part to convince others of that, and this tournament is the perfect opportunity. I vote Go.”

    Benton nodded. As expected. “Yang Ru?”

    The young man glanced at Kang Lin before speaking. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately about when a man becomes a man and, more importantly, what it means to be a man. My father, I believe, would have told me that a man doesn’t need someone else to tell him he’s worthy of respect and that a man doesn’t need someone else to provide him with a challenge. A man is worthy of respect because he does his job and provides for his family. The only challenge he needs is accomplishing the job set in front of him. I vote Stay.”

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    Benton couldn’t remember his disciple saying so much at one time before, especially not in a counsel meeting. He obviously had a lot on his mind, and Benton couldn’t help but wonder about how many of those thoughts had nothing at all to do with the tournament. “Gratitude. Zhong Wen?”

    The head of the village orphanage tensed when her name was called, and Benton got the impression that she would have loved to abstain.

    “Stay,” she said finally. “I’d hate to see any of my kids get hurt.”

    Benton understood the sentiment well. “Wan Ai?” Sёarch* The N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The girl immediately and quietly said, “Stay.”

    Benton nodded. “Zou Tian?”

    The boy looked at Wan Ai. Then he looked at Yang Xiu. A pained expression crossed his face. “The benefits are known; the tournament will aid many of us in our advancement. In contrast, the risks are unknown; our enemy may attack, costing some or all of us our lives. Do I want to stay safe or challenge the heavens? Does staying mean reaching no higher than Foundation Establishment or Golden Core? Does going for it make it more possible that I eventually become a true immortal? I don’t know, but it seems to me that the correct choice is Go.”

    Zou Tian’s tone was resolute, but his face said that he wished he’d made a different choice.

    Ah, young love.

    Benton held back a laugh. “Gratitude for your vote. Shi Long?”

    “The life of a blacksmith apprentice isn’t exactly glamorous. Anytime I’m not cultivating, I’m working hard in the forges. Don’t get me wrong. I love it. It’s everything I didn’t even know my life was missing back when I was working in the shop back in the city. And I feel bad about being selfish in my decision, but I want to see how my abilities stack up against others at my level. I say Go.”

    Huang Yimun and Hou Yazhu, former mercenary and former wagon driver respectively, had been made disciples at the same time. Benton called on Huang Yimun first by virtue of him being the guard captain.

    “Go. No question.”

    Hou Yazhu’s response was equally emphatic. “Stay.”

    “Gratitude,” Benton said. “Xun Wu?”

    “I have to agree with Yang Ru,” the head of the Blacksmith Pavilion said. “I have no need for external validation, and the forge gives me all the challenges I’ll ever need. Stay.”

    Benton next called on the head of the Contribution Points Shop, Peng Zhen.

    “Stay, Master. In business, there is a time to take risks and a time to keep your head down. We’ve done enough sticking our heads up lately.”

    Benton certainly empathized with that point of view. “Gratitude. Zi Delan?”

    The former street tough from Vermillion Incomparable Rain Town was practically bouncing on his feet. “Go, Master. Getting beat up by other sects has to be better than the drumming Yang Ru is giving me daily.”

    The mayor, Mo Jian, was up next.

    “Stay, Sect Leader. There is no reason to put the villagers through unnecessary risk.”

    “Gratitude. Guang Yin.”

    The former associate member of the Righteous Rain Sect took his time answering. “This is not an easy decision, Sect Leader. Being invited to the Quinquennium Tournament is a huge honor. Refusing it is a disgrace not easily overcome. My inclination is to vote Go. But our sect has a real enemy, one who wishes nothing more than our utter destruction. As there is not a woodcutting contest, I will not bear the consequence of my decision, though. These young people will. I’d hate to have their suffering on my head. But at the same time, I can’t tell them to stay and give up on their chance for glory and honor. Basically, I’m very conflicted, but since I have to choose, it’s Go.”

    “Gratitude, Guang Yin. I appreciate the difficulty,” Benton said. “Sun Hua?”

    His assistant looked at each of the council members who had yet to vote, and he could almost see her tallying their choices in her head.

    “Go, Sect Leader,” she said simply.

    “Gratitude. Kang Lin?”

    The Poison Claw Sect member shot him a look that showed she still disapproved of someone who wasn’t even a sect member getting a vote. When he didn’t respond, she huffed.

    “Fine,” she said. “Every member of my sect works very hard in the hopes of being chosen to be one of our participants in the Quinquennium Tournament. I cannot and will not take that opportunity away from my friends, regardless of the potential danger. Go."

    Her attitude at being forced to be included made Benton hide a laugh. She definitely was one of his favorites.

    “Gratitude. Xiang Da?”

    The older man, the leader of the Formations Pavilion, simply said, “Stay.”

    The leader of the Healing Pavilion, Pan Xiaolian, was called on next.

    “I understand that the children will be disappointed at not being able to go, but I can’t ignore the chance of someone being seriously hurt. Stay.”

    “Gratitude,” Benton said.

    The next on the list was someone that he hadn’t dealt with much to that point, Mo Nuying. The older lady was … formidable despite her low cultivation realm. He understood why Sun Hua had chosen the woman as the head of the Punishment Pavilion.

    As the vote had proceeded, she had fixed each of the people who had expressed interest in competing with a glare, so Benton naturally assumed that her vote would be negative.

    “Only a fool would want to put their lives on the line just to compete in a game,” Mo Nuying said. “Far be it from me to interfere with the foolishness of youth, though. Go.”

    Well, that decision was interesting. Her affirmation left the tally at nine to Go and nine to Stay. Yuan Yaozu would cast the deciding vote.

    All eyes swung to look at him, and he chuckled.

    “Until this very meeting, I’d never met most of you. I didn’t even know your names. Now I’m being asked to make this momentous decision for a sect of which I’m not even a member. Sect Leader, this organization you run certainly is never boring.”

    Benton grinned back at him. “That it isn’t.”

    “You know one thing I’ve noticed about the people in this room, Sect Leader? For the most part, they have no fear of me. Basically only Guang Yin and Kang Lin obviously defer to me. I’d think I was the most mundane Qi Gathering cultivator imaginable if I were to judge myself based solely on their reactions. Definitely not a Nascent Soul, an existence at the pinnacle anyone on this continent has achieved.”

    Yuan Yaozu laughed again. “Even at those words, almost none of them even looked the slightest bit chagrined. Either your sect members need exposure to the other sects, or the other sects need to experience your sect members. Either way, the result is likely to be interesting. I say Go.”