One's Own Path, Shrek Academy

Indeed, this was the Scarlet Fire Monkey's spirit ring. Xin Qing was still looking on when he felt a small tremor from his Truth-Seeking Yang Sword. Being his soul-bound instrument that accompanied him through two incarnations, he could easily communicate with it.

"Oh? You want me to let you absorb it?" Xin Qing was curious. "But isn't it better for you to get a stronger spirit ring? From my memories, you can only have a certain number of rings, making each slot precious."

The sword was not taking no for an answer, however, as it told him that that restriction did not apply to it as it was not from this world to begin with. Having reached Complete Truth Realm himself, Xin Qing understood the principles his sword was talking about and hesitated no further as he held his sword against the white glow. Very quickly, the ring was consumed by a vortex-like apparition at the edge of the sword.

Letting out a satisfied hum, the sword made no more movements, letting Xin Qing observe it. And he was shocked by what he found out. The sword was stronger than before, even though Xin Qing had not cultivated at all since his arrival. In fact, he himself felt slightly stronger than before as well. "So this is spirit power!," he thought. Then, he understood why he no longer had any cultivation. It was all absorbed by his sword upon arriving in this world!

As a sword cultivator, he did not think this was necessarily a bad thing however, as his own strength was dependent on the sword to begin with. Understanding that this was the key to his own path, he scoured the forest for Scarlet Fire Monkeys without rest, quickly growing in strength.

When he was done, the Yang Sword shone brightly and was denser than before, growing stronger.

But after these weeks of farming Scarlet Fire Monkeys, Xin Qing understood that he could not do this forever as the Scarlet Fire Monkeys which originally gave him a sliver of spirit power had began to give him only specks.

Being a sect genius, he understood exactly how much of an advantage resources give to sect disciples over the secular genius. He knew that the next thing he had to do was secure a powerful backing which could fund his meteoric rise.

Looking through his memories, he knew that the top three powers of the land were Ben Ti Sect, Ming De Hall, and Shrek Academy.

He ruled out Ben Ti Sect as they were a mysterious and evil organization that did not fit his style. In addition, they were a body spirit clan, something which he was not in possession of.

Ming De Hall was also eliminated as, although he wanted resources, he did not want be someone's lackey as someone who was considered his generation's greatest genius, even if he was no longer the same.

And so, that left him Shrek Academy. Firstly, it was an academy which meant that beyond some basic guidelines, he was relatively free. Secondly, it was an academy where he could learn more about the world as there were many gaps in the memories left by the body's previous owner. Thirdly, it appeared to be closest to his current location. From all perspectives, they were the optimal choice.

After he finished crafting a bamboo hat, scared that anyone would recognize the body's previous owner, he beelined towards Shrek Academy.

Suddenly, he had an interesting thought. 'I hear they only accept monsters. I wonder what criteria... determines a monster..." The lone figure strode through the forest with a large bamboo hat as the leaves fell silently behind him.