Future Choices

The bearded man escorted Zhou Bai to his room, then stood outside the door.

He looked at Zhou Bai and said, "You've already awakened Primordial Spirit Power, so you have more choices ahead of you. You can enlist directly and fight the demons. You can also join a smaller sect—the pay is good, and they have cultivation knowledge for you to study. Or you can wait for the Heavenly Court to assign you a job."

"But if you ask me, compared to all that, I'd recommend studying at a Dao School." The bearded man said, "If you study at a Dao School, you'll have opportunities for further advancement, and the cultivation resources you receive will far surpass anything available through other channels. You can take a Dao School entrance test and try your luck."

"I'll consider it carefully." Zhou Bai said. "Thank you. Come to think of it, I still don't know what to call you..."

"Zhang Aidao..." The big-bearded man curled his lips. "But I don't really like that name. I don't like the Heavenly Dao. Just call me Old Zhang. An official will come speak with you tomorrow and decide where you'll go next. Don't rush. Take your time to think it over."

After Zhang Aidao left, Zhou Bai lay on the bed. Seeing that his Laziness Qi had not increased, he understood that it was because midnight had not yet passed.

Zhou Bai thought, Christina, why haven't you said anything this whole time?

"I'm sorting through my memories." Christina said with a rare solemn expression. "After coming here today, a lot of memories about humanity awakened in me. Meow, I know so much—could I actually have been a leader of the human race before?"

Christina said, "Oh, right, Zhou Bai. Tomorrow, you absolutely must choose to further your studies at a Dao School."

Zhou Bai asked, "Why?"

Christina said, "How are you supposed to slack off in the army or a sect? Aren't you afraid of getting beaten to death? Only a school is the place where your talents can truly shine. With your level of laziness, won't you soar into the sky the moment you enter a school?"

Zhou Bai said, "Why do I always feel like you're insulting me?"

"How could I be?" Christina thought to herself, Hmph, Dao Schools probably aren't that strict. They probably won't discover me, right? Just watch as I slowly take control of you, train you, and finally trick you out of your Auxiliary System. I'll definitely be far more formidable using this Auxiliary System than this foolish boy.

Zhou Bai thought, Hmph, this damned cat definitely isn't thinking anything good. Just wait and see how I trick every last thing you know out of you, squeezing you dry to the bone.

After sleeping comfortably through the night, Zhou Bai got up the next morning and felt that his injuries had improved greatly. They no longer seemed to affect ordinary walking or turning over in bed.

Then he eagerly looked at the Auxiliary System panel again. He spent 100 points of Laziness Qi, added 10 points to his Primordial Spirit Value, and raised his Primordial Spirit Power to 60 points.

Perhaps because he already had a foundation of 50 points of Primordial Spirit Power, Zhou Bai only felt slightly dizzy when he suddenly gained another 10 points. Half a minute later, he had completely returned to normal.

"Looks like I'm getting stronger and stronger. Let's add some more and see."

Excited, Zhou Bai put all his remaining Laziness Qi into his Primordial Spirit Value. His Primordial Spirit Value instantly broke through to 70 points. This time, the dizziness was even milder. After feeling dizzy for a little over ten seconds, Zhou Bai felt himself fully recover.

Then, with a thought, the chair not far away was abruptly lifted into the air. Amid a series of crackling sounds, the steel chair was instantly crushed into a ball and tossed onto the floor like a piece of trash.

"Whew... with 70 points of Primordial Spirit Power, I'd have struck it rich in my old world."

After increasing his Primordial Spirit Power early in the morning, Zhou Bai looked at Christina in his consciousness. She was lying there on her back with all four paws in the air, her body twisted into an odd shape as she slept soundly.

Bang!

With a thought, he released the foolish cat and tossed her onto the floor, startling her into jumping up.

"What are you doing? I'm sleeping!"

"Sleeping, sleeping—why are you sleeping so much all day when you don't even have a system?" Zhou Bai grabbed her and pulled her over. Looking at the gemstone hanging around her neck, he frowned slightly.

Ever since that incident—whether it had been time reversal or some effect of foreseeing the future—the gemstone had become dim and gray as it was now. It still had not changed in the slightest.

Zhou Bai asked, "Can't this gemstone recover?"

"It probably can." Christina pondered. "I feel like if you let me use your Auxiliary System, maybe I could use Laziness Qi to restore the gemstone's power!"

With a thought from Zhou Bai, Primordial Spirit Power seized Christina and pulled her into his arms, where he gave her a vigorous petting.

Christina thought bitterly, You bastard, just you wait. One day I'll pet you to death!

Zhou Bai tried for a while, but he could not find any way to restore or make use of the gemstone, so he simply gave up.

"If the gemstone can't be used for now, then my most advantageous asset is still the system." Zhou Bai rubbed his chin as he thought, I need to think of other ways to increase my Laziness Qi Value.

Thinking as he went, Zhou Bai left the room to find something to eat, then returned to wait for the official's arrival.

The other party arrived quickly. Just like the examinations and treatment Zhou Bai had undergone yesterday, there was no unnecessary small talk or probing. After asking about Zhou Bai's wishes, the official recommended that he take the entrance test a week later. As long as he passed, he would qualify to enter a Dao School.

Worth mentioning was that, through the official's introduction, Zhou Bai gained a rough understanding of the basic situation.

A global war between humanity and the Heavenly Demons was still being fought on Earth.

Most of Earth's land had already been occupied by the Heavenly Demons. The Western Continent had fallen completely, while the humans of the Eastern Continent were only holding on to roughly the last third of their territory.

The place where Zhou Bai and the others currently were lay in the southeastern corner of that final territory.

In order to fight the Heavenly Demons more effectively and concentrate resources, humanity had united all nations and sects five hundred years ago, placing them under the unified leadership of the Heavenly Court.

To deal with the distortion of the Heavenly Dao and more effectively cultivate human powerhouses to oppose the Heavenly Demons, the Heavenly Court had gathered the strongest sects of the era one hundred years ago. They had each established one Dao School in the east, south, west, and north, sharing the cultivation methods and resources of every school of thought.

Although some smaller sects still remained today, the most powerful cultivators basically all came from Dao Schools.

But because resources were limited and students could not be cultivated without limit, anyone wishing to enter one of the Four Great Dao Schools had to pass an entrance test.

The closest one to Zhou Bai was Donghua Dao School, located on the eastern coast of humanity's territory.

"It just so happens that Donghua Dao School's entrance test will be held one week from now. I'll arrange for you to take tomorrow's Flying Carriage to Donghua City, but after that, the rest will be up to you."

Zhou Bai nodded. He knew this was already the limit of what the other party could do, then asked, "What exactly does Donghua Dao School's entrance test cover? I'd like to prepare in advance."

The man smiled. "You can ask Old Zhang. Ah... Zhang Aidao, the one who brought you back yesterday. He took the entrance test before. Unfortunately, he didn't pass, but he should know what the test covers."