BWFoster78

Chapter 17 – Nah, It’ll Be Fine.

Benton listened to the discussion between the two kids and found himself somewhat surprised at how easily Yang Xiu acquiesced. The result was what he would have chosen, though, so he didn’t concern himself about it too much. He called them over to him.

“You’re both in agreement? Yang Ru will get the spear and Yang Xiu the bow?”

“Yes, Senior Brother Chao,” Yang Ru said.

Yang Xiu frowned instead of answering. “Senior Brother Chao, do you think we made a good deci...

Chapter 16 – Strength, Weakness, and Technique

Benton’s spiritual senses told him that Yang Ru was close to breaking into the second minor realm. Meanwhile, Yang Xiu had switched from meditation to running around the campsite, trying to get used to her new physical improvements.

It was still short of midday, but with both of them having advanced, Benton needed to sit the kids down to discuss next steps. He figured he might as well get lunch ready even if it was a little early.

Just before the food finished cooking, he got th...

Chapter 15 – Pressure Points

With not a whole heck of a lot to do other than watch two kids literally sit around, the next three days passed slowly for Benton. On the morning of the fifth day only a couple of hours after Yang Xiu started cultivating, he got the notification he’d been waiting for. 

He quickly scanned her with his senses. 2024-10-15 01:02:48 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 14 – Cultivating Disciples

Benton scratched the back of his neck. That pun had been bad even for him. Greg would have both hated and loved it.

A pang of regret flooded Benton at the prospect of never seeing any of his grandchildren again, but he quickly brushed it off. They’d be fine without him. Yang Xiu and her brother would have died if Benton hadn’t been there to save them.

Of course, she almost died because he left her alone, too. He’d never even considered something as mundane as a boar as being...

Chapter 13 – A Boring Wait?

Yang Xiu stared after her new master. “Did you see that, Ru’er? One second, he was just standing there, and the next, he’d disappeared. Do you think we’ll really be able to move that fast?”

Her brother shrugged.

Ru’er was the only family she had left, and she loved him dearly. But he’d never been much of a conversationalist. “No time like the present to get started. You ready to take that pill?”

“Listen, Xiu’er, I’ve been thinking. Maybe you should go...

Chapter 12 – The Great Hunt

Two solutions to the problem of using jade slips occurred to Benton. The first, easiest answer was to simply use Sect Points to increase his cultivation to the Foundation Establishment realm. Of course, that meant either hiding that act from the kids or coming up with an explanation. It also meant that he’d have to help both of them use the slips every time they wanted to refer back to something.

Worse, it meant using up a precious resource. It was becoming obvious to him that the Sys...

Chapter 11 – A Hitch in the Plan

Many parts of the tea ceremony had seemed slow and somewhat boring to Benton. He understood how important such events were in his new culture and thus to his new disciples, but Su’s memories didn’t influence him strongly enough to make it as momentous to him. It was an appreciation that could only be achieved as he gained experience.

On the plus side, the length of the ceremony had given him plenty of time to consider his next steps. By the time the System notified him that Yang Ru ...

Chapter 10 – Induction

Benton walked far enough from the campsite to give the kids a chance to talk without him listening in. He could have gone only out of sight to give them the appearance of privacy, but he knew both how much he really wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation and how much of a breach of trust that would be. He’d instructed them to yell loudly when they were ready for him to return.

That shout occurred way too soon.

At first, he feared that something in the forest had approached th...

Chapter 9 – Two Roads Diverged into the Woods

A heavenly scent wafted to Yang Xiu’s nose. Her stomach rumbled. “Am I hallucinating or is someone cooking a pig?”

Ru’er sniffed the air and immediately stopped walking. “You’re not imagining things.”

She started forward and made it several steps before she noted that her brother hadn’t moved. “What are you waiting for? Maybe they have enough to share.”

“It’s a trap. It must be.”

“Or… it’s the second miracle.” Yang Xiu grinned back at ...

Chapter 8 – The Path Forward

Equal parts amazed and afraid, Yang Xiu watched as the cultivator disappeared from view. “Did you see that, Ru’er?  Fang Wei is dead. He killed Fang Wei. Our nightmare is over. Finally.”

Her brother tried to hide his dismay from her, but as his twin, she knew him way too well.

“What?” she said. “He’s dead. It’s over.”

“We can’t go back, Xiu’er.”

“Why not? We can live with uncle.”

He clenched his hands. “Uncle Hai fled. When I ...

Chapter 7 – Murderhobo?

Benton rushed in the direction of the scream, his mind conjuring up all kinds of dangers that could be assailing the young lady. Su’s memories, in turn, introduced knowledge of multiple spirit beasts that could mimic such a cry, but Benton dismissed the concern. His enhanced spiritual sense didn’t indicate any large sources of qi in the direction he was headed. In fact, it only picked up only the vaguest wisp of any.

Since the shriek had sounded desperate, Benton threw caution to th...

Chapter 6 – Finally a Cultivator. Again. Kind of.

When Benton had first seen the list of six menus on his status screen, the one that had most excited him dealt with perks. The second most exciting was the one he was about to explore. 

He’d figured that was the purpose of the menu, and it was good to have his guess confirmed.

“System, I’d like to increase my cultivation.” 2024-10-14 20:34:39 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 5 – Perk up.

When Benton was thoroughly satisfied that he understood everything important and pertinent about cultivation method creation, he moved on to techniques and found out that the process for those didn’t vary much from what he’d already learned. The multiplier for the technique’s realm matched the one for methods, and he had to specify the applicability and allocate one hundred Creation Points in the same manner. The only differences were the costs and that he had to also specify what skill...

Chapter 4 – Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing the Sect Leader System!

Though Benton had never regretted his choice of careers back on Earth, he had to admit that his life hadn’t been the most exciting. Besides a few nice trips—seeing the Colosseum in Rome and glowing lava flowing across a nighttime landscape at Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii stood out—most of the big events he’d experienced centered around his family. He grinned thinking about the birth of his first grandchild.

That was then, though, on a whole different planet. He’d been giv...

Chapter 3 - A Whole New World

When the world—or a world at any rate—came back into view, Benton was lying face down in stinky mud. He groaned. What was that putrid smell? It almost made him gag.

While holding his breath, he climbed to his feet and, once up, looked around. Beside him was a small pond surrounded by a thick forest. The sky was blue, and there were trees and bushes with brown trunks and green leaves. He hadn’t exactly been a nature person in his previous life, so the plants may or may not have bee...

Chapter 2 – Game Over or Press Continue?

The next thing Benton knew, he was standing in what looked like a bog-standard corporate office. Cheap carpet squares. Lay-in acoustic tile ceiling. Fluorescent lights. White dry-erase board.

The truck had crashed into him. He remembered vividly standing in the street facing it with his arm covering his head. The hood had struck his torso first, forcing his head forward.

Things had gone black at that point. He didn’t even recall any pain.

The best explanation he could come...

Chapter 1 - A Fine Day to Die

Six o’clock had came and went, but Benton York was still at his desk, just about ready to pack it in for the day.

Edward, the executive vice-president of sales slipped in the open door. “Is there anyone in your section still here? I’ve got a presentation in the morning, and it needs some touchups.”

“Just me, Mr. Abbott,” Benton said. “But I can get it done for you.”

The PowerPoint emergency took close to another hour, but he didn’t mind too much. He liked h...