"Do both of you know what kind of Spiritual Soul you've awakened?" the Village Chief asked. As the village leader, it was vital for him to know what distribution of cultivators the village has.
Part of the reason is because of security purposes. As for another reason, it was for the village's benefit.
Depending on what, when, and why it was needed, each element cultivator comes with a specific purpose. Those who awakened a Fire or Metal-Based Spiritual Soul were often good with blacksmithing due to their mastery.
As for those with Water and Wood-Based Spiritual Soul, their forte is related to agriculture, foraging, and much more. People with Earth-Based Spiritual Soul were good in creation, but some might be good at fighting.
But when it comes to the three rather unique awakenings, their uses were somewhat peculiar. Those with Blood-Based Spiritual Soul were good with life preservation and fighting, but harder to be accepted due to the gore nature of their ability.
Those with a Poison-Based Spiritual Soul are either revered or dissed, depending on the situation. They might be seen as saints at places that need them or a reaper if they ended in an evil path.
Last but not least, those that awakened the Clarity-Based Spiritual Soul. This was the only one without other specialties except fighting. People with the Clarity Spiritual Soul was also known as those with absolute righteousness.
"Village Chief, Xuan-Xuan awakened a Wood-Based Spiritual Soul." Xia Xuan-Xuan immediately answered the chief's question. Her answer immediately brought a smile to the chief's expression as it made him remembered something.
"You looked just like your father when we're younger. He was just as happy as you did when he got his Wood Spiritual Soul, too." the Village Chief was both happy and sad when reminiscing the past.
As for Yanglin, he's still pondering in between the Blood-Based or Clarity-Based Spiritual Soul.
"Would my choice determine what I will be doing? And what if it does? Should I reveal only the Blood-Base or Clarity-Base, or both of them?" Yanglin put some thought before answering the chief's question.
Although choosing either one won't affect him significantly for what's to come, it would be best if he put some consideration into it.
He then remembered how the Reliance System immediately choose the Blood Foundation Pill over the Clarity Foundation Pill.
'It won't be wise for me to choose a base where part of the Foundation Pill will be consumed by a greedy baby, correct? Furthermore, selecting the Clarity-Base Spiritual Soul would give me more freedom to go in and out from the village.' Yanglin nodded at his own thought.
"Hey! The chief is waiting for your answer." Xia Xuan-Xuan slapped Yanglin's back after catching him daydreaming as usual.
"Ah..."
"Nephew Yanglin awakened a Clarity-Based Spiritual Soul." Yanglin acted like he was woken up by Xia Xuan-Xuan before answering the question. He decided to keep the fact of having two bases a secret.
"Clarity? Why wasn't it Blood-Based, just like both of your parents? Don't tell me that the rumor is..." the Village Chief was puzzled by Yanglin's answer. It causes the chief to went silent for a while before accepted Yanglin's answer.
But he was still hesitant if he should keep quiet about what he had in mind.
Putting his thought into consideration, the Village Chief decided to not speak about this any further. He neither comment nor praise Yanglin for awakening a Clarity-Base Spiritual Soul.
"We've taken a while by talking here. Let's hurry up. All the book in this shelf is related to either Spiritual Gathering Technique and Body Tempering Technique. You may choose one to bring back home and start practice."
"As for what achievement you'll get from practicing what you've chosen, it would be based on your luck and effort. Now, take some time and choose one that you think you have an affinity for practicing." said the Village Chief.
After listening to what the Village Chief said, the two walked side by side as they inspected the book's title one after another. Fourteen books in total, seven of them were Spiritual Gathering Techniques, and the remaining were Body Tempering Techniques.
It seems that there are no rules that dictate what must be learned before the other.
Those who prefer hands-on experience could proceed straight to Body Tempering. Those choosing to build their foundation first can start with Gathering Technique. The only difference here was their priority.
But if it was following the norm, perhaps nine out of ten would start with a Spiritual Gathering Technique.
And the reason for this choice was pretty simple.
Starting their cultivation path with a Spiritual Gathering Technique would slowly build their foundation as they reserve the resources for the Body Tempering. But for those choosing to begin with Body Tempering, they'll have to look for an external source to fill their foundation.
[In this part, foundation means Foundation Pills. You can treat the Realm Vessel / independent realm as a container that holds all your batteries, AKA pills. The cycle would be like Spiritual Gathering Technique to create the energy, the Realm Vessel is to store it, and the Body Tempering is to use it. As introduced before in the previous chapter, Spirit Gathering Technique improves over time the more it was used. The Body Tempering does not follow the same rules]
It is evident what choice Xia Xuan-Xuan would make. After going through the seven Spiritual Gathering Techniques in a single inspection, she eventually decided on the fourth book on the row.
"Chief, I'll choose this Spiritual Gathering Technique." Xia Xuan-Xuan presents her choice to the Village Chief before taking it out of the library with her.
"Very good. This Verdant Leaves Gathering Technique is the most suitable art that compliments your Spiritual Soul." the Village Chief nodded at Xia Xuan-Xuan's choice.
They're only waiting for Yanglin to make his decision.
Yanglin soon decided on what to choose as he grabbed one of the books from the lower shelf. The two others were in a gasp for air as they know what was there on the lower shelf.
"Are you sure you want to choose this Obsidian Body Technique?" the Village Chief asked.
"Yes, chief," Yanglin replied.
"So be it. Others find it hard, but you might be able to do it. This senior can only wish you luck in learning it." the Village Chief nodded at Yanglin's choice.