Fate Shift - Chapter 11

The Elder of the West had many questions he wanted to ask but he reined himself in. He could ask D’Gedda many questions at a later date. Right now he needed to focus on the important topics.

“D’Gedda, do you want the Ti Clan Leader position or are you just planning on fighting for it for the sake of your life?”

D’Gedda laughed and said “straight to the heart of the matter. Yes, I want to be the Ti Clan Leader. I’m mostly interested in the opportunities the position would provide; namely how I can gain more personal strength and resources as the clan leader. I naturally wouldn’t forget the Seven Powers Sect if I ascended to the position either.”

The Elder of the West absorbed D’Gedda’s words. Next he asked “How confident are you?”

D’Gedda’s smile faded away and was replaced with a brief glimmer of seriousness. It only lasted a moment though, like a cloud briefly blocking the sun’s rays. He was once again all smiles as he said “It’ll be hard but I can do it. I think I could do it without the aid of the Seven Powers Sect but with it I know I can become the next Ti Clan Leader.”

“I see. Still, even if you’re confident that doesn’t mean you’ll have the capability. I have a few ideas as to how you could display you’re capability. One possibility to consider is this: as you are now an apprentice of the Seven Powers Sect you can be considered a sect member in full. With your age and cultivation you could easily represent my Western Branch as a youth aiming to become my successor and the next Elder of the West. By choosing this option you’d have access to a large amount of resources and would have a fighting chance in becoming the Ti Clan Leader.”

D’Gedda shook his head. “There’re several problems with that idea. First off, the Ti Clan would never let an Elder of the Seven Powers Sect become the clan leader. Any Elder of the Seven Powers Sect would have to obey the sect master, which would mean the Seven Powers Sect would have control over the Ti Clan. Those Ti Clan Elders would never bow their heads to an outside force if they felt they had the slightest chance of maintaining their power. Aside from that, there’s also the issue of my personal interests. I don’t want to be an Elder of the Seven Powers Sect.”

The Elder of the West calmly accepted D’Gedda’s points. Though no sign of it showed on his expression, the Elder was pleased. ‘He has a keen mind, this one. He saw clearly that the first suggestion would never prove feasible. He also seems to have made his intent of working with me obvious and has spoken with sincerity. This D’Gedda, he’s worth betting on.’

“We both know that there’re really only two paths that would work here” the Elder stated. “In the first path we’d cooperate secretly; our relationship in public would be cordial but unremarkable. You’d spend your time training in the sect before eventually cutting ties with the Seven Powers Sect officially and wholeheartedly attempting to become the Ti Clan Leader. This path would make the Ti Clan suspect you but so long as they lacked proof you’d been working with the sect they wouldn’t be able to do anything to you openly. In secret they’d certainly plot against you though.

The second path would be much harder but also more impressive. Instead of hiding your affiliation with the Seven Powers Sect you could make it work for you. If you were to become the Seven Powers Sect’s Seven Powers Scion you could openly compete for the position of Ti Clan Leader. As the Seven Powers Scion you’d be ensured the position of Sect Master when the current Sect Master retires. It would also mean that if you did become the Ti Clan Leader you’d have unified the Ti Clan with the Seven Powers Sect. You’d still be plotted against this way but many Ti Clan Elders would consider working with you. Even excluding those who’d want to support you, there’d still be those who hoped to make you into a figurehead, allowing them to control the Ti Clan and Seven Powers Sect.”

D’Gedda said, grinning, “You know which path I intend to take don’t you Elder? Of course I’ll take the second one.”

“In that case you’ll have many challenges to overcome. In order to become the Seven Powers Scion you’ll have to prove yourself worthy. In all honesty the difficulty of becoming the Seven Powers Scion is greater than becoming the Ti Clan Leader. Still, you just might be able to pull it off.”

“I plan to. That said, I don’t recall all the requirements for the position. I know I have to prove myself but what are the specific steps I need to take?”

“The Seven Powers Scion’s first requirement is the same as the Ti Clan Leader’s. You need strength. Specifically you need to beat all seventy Chosen in official duels. To even have the chance to attempt such a feat you’ll first have to cultivate up to at least the peak of Qi Transformation. Realistically though, you’ll need to be a journeyman cultivator to try to become the Seven Powers Scion. Even if you do defeat all the Chosen, you’ll still have to accept challenges after that.

Aside from strength you’ll also need at least one branch of the sect to support you. On that end you’re already settled as I’ll act as your backer. The third requirement will be in terms of character. No matter how strong you are, if don’t seem like you’d make a good sect master you won’t be selected as the Seven Powers Scion. Basically, you just have to have a good reputation. If the Sect Ancestor were to support you, that’d be the best case scenario. Actually, if you won him over it wouldn’t matter if everyone else in the sect hated your guts, you’d still be able to become the Seven Powers Scion.

Lastly, you’ll have to make great contributions to the sect. This is the hardest requirement, as your contributions will need to have a major impact on the sect as a whole. I suggest you don’t forget about this but also don’t focus on it now. For the moment you really just need to focus on cultivation. To that end I will have you transferred over to the Seven Powers Sect’s Central Branch. You’ll have more opportunities there than anywhere else.”

D’Gedda nodded to show his understanding. He stood and said “I can be ready to leave in an hour.”

I’ve decided to stop enforcing the 2k+ rule. Since I’m already going to be releasing 4k words per day I might as well just do 2 chapters a day. Doing it like this offers much greater flexibility than doing a single 4k chapter each day. 1/2 chapters for today, 7/2/2018. Next chapter will be over 3k words.