Choice

After a brief recollection, Qian Mo released his hand and swept his gaze across the various Paths.

After years of cultivation, Qian Mo knew full well the limitations of his Martial Soul cultivation talent.

Unless he consumed immortal herbs, the absolute most he could achieve in this life was becoming a Soul King—and a support-type Soul King with little combat ability at that.

It was just like those Dragonkin of Permanence; their upper limits had been locked in from birth.

Thus, Qian Mo was not particularly concerned with the Permanence Path for now. It was enough to maintain his daily cultivation and keep progressing.

And as someone determined to change the future of Martial Soul Hall, how could Qian Mo possibly resign himself to mediocrity?

That was why Qian Mo had come out to gain experience this time.

Although the Path cultivation system meant that when one's will aligned with a Path, one had stepped onto that Path—

Actually becoming a Pathstrider of that Path, however, required more than just thinking about it.

One had to put it into practice and unite knowledge with action. Only then could one gradually grow stronger through the Path system. Otherwise, it was nothing but wishful thinking.

Among the eighteen Paths, Qian Mo's choices were actually quite limited.

Nihility led only to death. No.

The conditions for embarking upon Finality and Remembrance were unknown. No.

Beauty was flawless and wonderful, but Qian Mo considered himself a filthy adult, so he was unworthy. No.

The Erudition Path was equally lofty, but Qian Mo did not think he had the brains for it. No.

Propagation and Voracity were twisted and malformed. No.

Mystery? Qian Mo had no intention of playing the riddle-maker. No.

Furthermore, The Hunt was too extreme, Elation caused too much trouble, and Destruction was too insane. Qian Mo rejected them all.

After sorting through his options, the Paths Qian Mo could ultimately choose from were no more than Sunday's initial Harmony-Order Path, along with Abundance and Trailblaze, and finally Preservation.

Qian Mo first looked at Abundance.

As a classic healer Path—

Considering that his Holy Light's Grace already possessed healing abilities, Qian Mo did not see it as an urgent need. He quickly shifted his gaze to the Trailblaze Path.

As a Path with an extremely broad concept, one could make progress upon it by exploring unknown knowledge or setting foot in unknown fields.

But considering the technological level of Douluo Continent, even trailblazing Douluo Continent itself would probably be difficult enough. Needless to say, the Path feedback he could obtain would naturally be limited.

As for Preservation...

Qian Mo let out a sigh. He was still just an insignificant Martial Soul Hall nobody. What could he possibly preserve?

After going around in circles and analyzing it all, Qian Mo realized that his best choice was ultimately the Harmony-Order Path.

At that, Qian Mo gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"I really am no genius. After thinking for so long, I still couldn't find a different path to become strong through another Path."

But Qian Mo soon put away his tangled thoughts and immersed his attention in Sunday's insights into the Harmony-Order Path.

The next day—

Qian Mo changed into a well-fitted black priest's robe.

Though it was merely an ordinary robe, paired with Qian Mo's tall, straight figure, incomparably handsome face, and bearing, it immediately drew everyone's attention.

Qian Mo returned their looks with a warm smile.

Yet even the slowest-witted among them could sense that Qian Mo was different today. It was as though something else had been added to his presence.

Though no one knew what exactly had changed, they only felt that Qian Mo carried more authority than before and made them instinctively want to draw closer to him.

However, Qian Mo understood the destructive power of his looks. He had established his authority on the very first day he arrived, so no female perverts had come knocking and tried to get handsy with him.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone went about their respective duties.

Those responsible for awakening Martial Souls went to guard the awakening room, while those in charge of soul power registration and allowance distribution returned to their offices.

Qian Mo's workplace today was the confession room.

To allow confessors to lower their guard as much as possible and reveal the secrets troubling their hearts, Martial Soul Hall's confession rooms were no different from the churches of his previous life. They were private chambers where the priest and visitor were separated.

Yet even without facing outsiders directly, Qian Mo sat behind the wall with his posture straight and meticulous.

Over the entire morning, Qian Mo received only two confessors.

But he was deeply disappointed by both of them.

One was a minor noble who confessed that he should not have had an affair with his stepmother. He was now terrified and desperately searching for a solution.

His fierce and lustful stepmother was truly more than he could handle.

Qian Mo could not help him with that either. After all, he did not sell aphrodisiacs from India. He merely told the man to take care of his health, or simply go somewhere else and hide for a while.

The other was a merchant.

His confession was that he had sold his goods too cheaply. He could have earned twice the profit, and the matter had been gnawing at him ever since. It had even reduced his appetite from three bowls of rice per meal to two, after which he could eat no more.

That was why he had come to Martial Soul Hall, hoping to find a way to soothe his soul.

Even Qian Mo, who prided himself on his composure, could not help the twitch at the corner of his mouth. In his heart, he wanted to hang this guy from a streetlamp!

But Qian Mo's profession did not allow him to do that. In the end, he could only perfunctorily suggest that buying some calming medicinal herbs might help.

Yet when that oddball finally left, he even complained about how expensive those herbs were, saying the whole trip had been wasted. It truly irritated Qian Mo a little!

After that, Qian Mo had nothing to do. He was so bored that he began leafing through books related to his work.

However, during this time, Qian Mo quickly figured something out.

Douluo Continent was, after all, a world where extraordinary power was concentrated in the individual.

And since the Angel God had not bestowed any miracles for a long time, while Martial Soul Hall's cultural outreach in this regard was lacking, it naturally resulted in this line of work being quiet.

Thus, Qian Mo's primary duty as a Priest was actually to promote faith in the Angel God during certain special times each month.

At this moment, Qian Mo's gaze grew solemn as he pondered continuously.

This won't do. Even among all the Paths, the Path of Harmony is an exceptionally special existence.

Though its core principle is that the strong aid the weak, when broken down, it emphasizes unity among the masses and concerted effort. Only then can one grow stronger.

If I keep idling around like this, when will I ever gather ten thousand subordinates?

After thinking it over, Qian Mo decided to take the initiative.

Since lost lambs would not come to him on their own, he could go find them instead!

Thus, Qian Mo quickly called over one of his subordinates and had him take over his post.

After all, listening to people's confessions was something anyone could do.

Some staff members who noticed the change could not help but look at Qian Mo's departing back with disdain, inwardly sneering.

He had put on quite a convincing act before, but now his true colors were showing. A young master who came down to gild himself was still a young master after all; he could not even endure this little bit of tedium.

Although Qian Mo noticed the change in their attitudes, he did not take it to heart.

Because Qian Mo had understood in his previous life that other people's mouths could not be controlled.

And if one cared too much about what others thought, one had no mind of one's own and could only be exploited for a lifetime.