Chapter 5 The Four Main Professions

After digesting the last two Spirit Awakening Elixirs while seated in quiet meditation, Lu Bei slowly stood up, took a short walk to loosen his stiff body, and added some firewood to the burner.

A quilt was laid on the offering table. Not seeing Bai Jin around, Lu Bei took the initiative to crawl into the quilt.

There was nothing to be embarrassed about. Considering the realm and strength of his senior sister, she must have long outgrown trivial pleasures like sleeping in a quilt. Yet for him, who was weak, helpless, and pitiable, being without the protection of a quilt could mean catching a cold the next day.

"Huh, it smells so good!"

...

Awoken by the loud noise early the next morning, Lu Bei got up and saw about twenty strong men appeared in the front yard. He hurriedly rolled up his bedding, clutched the small box filled with Mo Buxiu's belongings, and ran to the backyard.

Bai Jin was in the backyard, her face veiled. Behind her trailed a middle-aged man dressed like a merchant. Whenever Bai Jin pointed at something, the middle-aged man would mark it in his account book.

"Sister, what's going on?"

"Mr. Lu, you have arrived just in time. Let me introduce, this is Leader Ding from the Emei Sect of Si Jing Peak ..."

"Leader Ding?"

"I am Ding Lei, greetings, Leader Lu."

"???"

Si Jing Peak and the Three Pure Peaks were from the same lineage within Nine Bamboo Mountain, and the Emei Sect, being the neighbor of Feather Gate, was stationed there.

This Emei Sect may sound formidable, but in reality, it was a small fry like Feather Gate, both being insignificant in strength. Judging by Ding Lei's worldly appearance, he practiced martial arts for the purpose of maintaining a good physique, which in turn would enable him to make more money.

Last night, Bai Jin broke into the Emei Sect and had a friendly meeting with Leader Ding, after which a contract was signed regarding the refurbishment and remodeling of Feather Gate.

Given the circumstance, being disrupted in the middle of the night by an uninvited "female demon" who barged into one's doorstep and enforced a humiliating labor agreement, anyone in the Emei Sect should normally be indignant. But...

She paid.

True, the agreement was forced, but the fact that she furnished it with hard cash was also undeniable. Ding Lei knew very well that even if this matter reached the Imperial Sect at Great Victory Pass, the officials might ignore it. The result would, in the end, be a private settlement between the two parties.

Seeing Bai Jin being quick and decisive in both drawing her sword and paying, Ding Lei, nose pinched, swallowed his resentment and arrived at the Three Pure Peaks at the break of dawn the following day.

Half of the remaining disciples came to provide moral support and the others went to Lang Yu County for recruitment.

Upon seeing Lu Bei, Ding Lei was very polite, but his words carried a hint of sarcasm, seemingly looking at him as a gigolo.

Contemptuous, yet envious, there was no contradiction in that.

Lu Bei felt uncomfortable under Ding Lei's sarcastic gaze. After having a rough idea of the situation, he pulled Bai Jin by the sleeve and headed towards an old tree: "Sister Bai, why so sudden?"

"It's not sudden, every cultivator requires wealth, marriage, method, and land, none can be spared. Since Uncle Mo entrusted you to me, I have the responsibility to take care of you through and through."

Bai Jin frowned: "Mr. Lu, last night I wandered around a few nearby peaks and found that the Three Pure Peaks, where Feather Gate is located, is a poor choice for a Taoist site."

Last night, Bai Jin visited all nine peaks of Nine Bamboo Mountain and found out that the Three Pure Peaks lived up to its name: devoid of people, money, and spiritual energy, not even a single divine bamboo, a specialty of Nine Bamboo Mountain, could be found on the peaks.

The destitution, plain to see, made the Three Pure Peaks deserving of its name.

Lack of population and money could be solved easily, and even the lack of spiritual energy was not a big problem. If the neighbor had better conditions, everyone could sit down, talk, and follow the martial arts road, it wouldn't take much time to arrive at a satisfactory agreement.

Having grasped Bai Jin's intention, Lu Bei's eyes twitched, the style of a straightforward occult cultivator was truly nothing short of direct.

I like it!

However...

"Sister, peace is precious, if I, who have just taken over as leader, make trouble with our neighbors, how can I promote the prosperity of the Feather Gate, how can I fulfill my late Master's will?"

Lu Bei implored patiently: "Moreover, my Master was highly skilled, and since he chose the Three Pure Peaks, he must have his reasons. As a disciple, how can I go against his will?"

Bai Jin's eyebrows furrowed slightly, just about to say something, she was interrupted by Lu Bei: "I know Sister Bai covers for me, and the neighbours of Nine Bamboo Mountain who offended me have also offended you. But, Sister Bai, you cannot always be around. Sooner or later, you will have to return to Lingxiao Sword Sect, aren't I right?"

Bai Jin nodded in acknowledgment, accepting Lu Bei's argument without mentioning the idea of relocating.

"By the way, Sister Bai, the next time something like this happens..."

Lu Bei glanced at Ding Lei, who was currently measuring the dimensions, and spoke softly: "Could you discuss it with me first?"

"Is anything wrong?"

"I am young and I want to push myself."

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just rambling."

...

By noon, new disciples who were recruited arrived, bringing dozens of people up the mountain.

Bai Jin didn't bring up the cost of rebuilding the Feather Gate, and Lu Bei didn't ask. Asking or not would have made no difference since he was unable to cover the costs.

Looking at the increasingly busy mountain gate, Lu Bei secretly enjoyed the muttering initiated by those nearby. He felt delighted at discovering his potential as a pretty boy and yet felt embarrassed by his own delight.

He should be showing respect to Sister Bai for all she's doing for him.

Therefore, he decided to genuinely respect Bai Jin. He planned to let any rumors about him being a pretty boy go in one ear and out the other, without the intention of explaining anything.

Anything else would seem too deliberate; superficial respect wasn't a notion he would indulge in.

Though Bai Jin had picked up on some rumors, she remained stoic, unfazed. She led Lu Bei to a secluded pond in the back mountains, initiating the first step of his spiritual cultivation journey.

Reading books.

Three sets of twelve Taoist scriptures were laid out before Lu Bei. His task was to read these repeatedly, until his inner spiritual energy responded, fulfilling the initial "enlightenment" stage.

The bad news was that when piled up, these twelve books were about half a meter tall, which was quite intimidating. The good news was that everything he needed was right here, nothing was omitted.

So this was how NPCs are "enlightened," quite different from the player's process!

"Enlightenment" is when a player picks their main profession. One account can only make this choice once, once chosen cannot be changed, players who regretted their choice could only delete their account and start over.

The Nine Continents World had four main professions: Taoist Cultivators, Demon Cultivators, Monster Cultivators, Buddhist Cultivators. Each profession had its strengths in the early stages and distinct features in the later stages, they each possessed irreplaceable charm.

In the Nine Continents World, Taoist Cultivators, Monster Cultivators, Buddhist Cultivators were officially recognized by the human race as orthodox cultivation methods. Demon Cultivators were somewhat unconventional. Since most of them had poor public reputations, they took up 90% of the wanted list in each country, they were not recognized as mainstream.

In public, it was so, but in private...

Putting it this way, whether Taoist or Monster cultivator, all ways of cultivation aim for the same goal. Taking the strengths of various schools is the king's way. If you don't know the methods of the Demon Cultivators, you would be ashamed to say you're cultivating to become an immortal.

Similarly, as a Demon Cultivator, it's both logical and proper to have a few shariras for protection.

Among the four main professions, Taoist cultivators had the highest compatibility, their motto being "be inclusive to all, that's how to be grand". The manipulability of their chosen skills was also the highest.

Demon Cultivators pursued truth and nature. They believed in breaking and reconstructing, advancing without retreat. Hence, they were full of masochists and ruthless people, giving birth to all sorts of eccentric ones.

The Monster Cultivators had the most restrictions; only the monster tribe and the human race who had monster blood could cultivate. The essence was to refine the bloodlines, to trace back to the innate from the acquired, similar to a green caterpillar evolving into a giant butterfly, awakening the hidden power in the bloodline. Monster Cultivators with strong bloodlines could easily crush their peers by awakening their inherent divine abilities.

In comparison to these three flashy professions, Buddhist Cultivators were much more traditional — they upheld their principles and didn't pursue flashy things.

In the early stages, Buddhist Cultivators had the lowest combat power. But, when it came to the later stages, a powerful Buddhist Cultivator could have a comprehensive approach: Contend spells with Taoist cultivators, persist to the death against Demon Cultivators, and compete in a wrestling match with Monster Cultivators.

Of course, all of these situations occurred before the players logged in. When the fourth calamity arrived, these fearless players immediately took action, making the local NPC cultivators exclaim in surprise, so this is another way to cultivate to become immortal.