"This ability to calm even one's heart... no wonder he received an Excellent Rating. He truly carries the Great Dao within him!"
"The Jiang Clan has... truly produced a hidden dragon!"
Having completely confirmed Jiang Xuan's abilities, the crowd's enthusiasm multiplied severalfold. They pressed in even more tightly around him.
Of course, they were this fanatical because they firmly believed Jiang Xuan would recruit a group of followers.
Whether in his past life or in this world of cultivation, outstanding powerhouses were never lacking in admirers. In his past life, Liu Bang, the founding emperor of Han, rose from humble beginnings with a band of old brothers from Pei County at his side. In this world, Aristocratic Clan scions like Dong Hao, Su Linyin, and Zeng Jun had long since begun secretly gathering trusted subordinates.
The use of these followers went far beyond helping them compete for Inner Disciple slots. Once they truly entered the inner sect and rose to high positions, they would contend for Dao lineages, resources, and authority, expanding their own power step by step.
But a person's energy was ultimately limited.
As Inner Disciples, their foremost duty would always be cultivation, climbing the heights of the Great Dao. Yet focusing on cultivation alone was far from enough—if they wished to walk the path of cultivation faster and more steadily, they had to fight for more cultivation resources and investigate more secret intelligence regarding opportunities. All of that required people to do it.
Put more darkly, when they went out to gain experience and encountered life-and-death crises in the future, having followers at their side would give them countless more escape routes.
They did not need to run faster than danger. They only needed to run faster than their own people. They might not even need to run at all. So long as they trained them properly, those loyal followers would willingly remain behind to cover their retreat, trading their lives for a sliver of survival.
For all these reasons, trusted followers possessed irreplaceable importance to Cultivators.
And these neighbors' desire to send their children to Jiang Xuan as followers was not born of any innate servility. On the contrary, attaching themselves to a peerless genius with boundless prospects was the best possible path out for ordinary people of mediocre talent.
Relying only on themselves, they would most likely remain trapped in Green Bamboo Town for their entire lives, guarding their tiny plots of land and living out their days, with little hope of ever rising above it. But if they followed a peerless genius, everything would be different.
A peerless genius who wished to expand his power and gather resources would inevitably place his fiercely loyal people into every key position with benefits to be had. Through that connection, these followers could secure bright futures that others could beg for and never obtain.
Not to mention that of all the Spirit Stones and resources passing through their hands, even a few scraps from the edges would be enough to ensure their whole families never lacked food or clothing.
This was a matter where both sides benefited, and it was also a normal state of affairs long etched into the bones of this cultivation world.
But following a powerhouse had never been easy.
Take Zhou Lin at Su Linyin's side. Not only was her own talent decent, but her father was also a steward of Green Bamboo Town. Only with such backing was she qualified to remain at Su Linyin's side. Even Jiang Xuan himself had only gained an opportunity because his father had paid the blood tax to the Su Household back then. That was precisely why, when he gave up this path, so many people had condemned him for being immature and far too willful.
But now, Jiang Xuan's talent had received the Daoist Academy's recognition, and his future was immeasurable. He also happened not to have gathered any trusted followers yet. No wonder these neighbors had gone so mad.
"Don't push, everyone, don't push..."
The crowd's frenzied encirclement forced Jiang Xuan to expend tremendous effort before he finally broke free, darted into his home, and hid in his bedroom.
"Whew... That was insane. It was several times more exhausting than when I condensed my Spirit Pivot Aperture Opening."
After tightly locking the doors and windows, Jiang Xuan leaned against the door and let out a long breath.
At the same time, all the neighbors' praise and flattery had not stirred even the slightest arrogance in him, nor had it given him any thought of recruiting a group of subordinates.
"My path of cultivation has only just begun. Right now, I possess some potential but lack the strength to match it. At a time like this, being too conspicuous is absolutely not a good thing."
"Besides, I promised Dong Hao that, in return for the resources he gave me back then, I would bring him into the inner sect with me. That won't be an easy task."
Fortunately, since Jiang Xuan dared to set such a goal, he naturally had the confidence to back it up.
"System, open my attribute panel."
"Buzz—!"
As Jiang Xuan murmured softly in his heart, a light buzz sounded, and a translucent screen resembling a game interface instantly appeared before his eyes.
[Player: Jiang Xuan] [Age: Fourteen] [Talent: Spirit Root (Profound Grade) (Blue)] [Cultivation: Spirit Pivot Aperture Opening Stage (Thirty-Six Apertures)] [Main Profession: Clear-Heart Sword Disciple (2/5), (Blank)] [Auxiliary Profession: Daoist Acolyte (3/3), (Blank)] [Techniques: Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method (Realm 1: Beginner, 279/300) (Blue), One Qi Sword Art (Realm 2: Skilled, 1405/4000) (Blue)]
Those were all of Jiang Xuan's current attributes. The Daoist Acolyte and Clear-Heart Sword Disciple professions could both be expanded to inspect their detailed professional skills.
Yet at this moment, Jiang Xuan had opened the attribute panel without looking at either of the two professions he had already taken. Instead, his gaze was fixed firmly on the blank slot in the Main Profession column.
And with almost no hesitation, Jiang Xuan issued a command through his thoughts.
"Take the Qi Refiner profession!"
[Qi Refiner Profession Requirements] ①: Find a spiritual land and settle there permanently (Completed) ②: Learn an orthodox qi-refining technique and cultivate it to the Skilled level (Completed) ③: Refine the first wisp of Spell Power within the body (Completed) [All profession requirements have been detected as fulfilled. Congratulations, you have successfully taken the Main Profession—Qi Refiner!]
Buzz—!
The instant the system notification fell, a special clear and ethereal ripple abruptly erupted from the depths of his sea of consciousness. Like a warm current, it flowed through his limbs, bones, meridians, and Soul Spirit, carrying out a gentle yet thorough Dao Foundation cleansing of his entire body.
This cleansing did not greatly improve Jiang Xuan's direct combat strength. A Qi Refiner was, after all, merely the most basic main combat profession. At present, he was only an apprentice who had just entered the field, so it naturally could not shake the foundation of his existing cultivation.
But from the very beginning, Jiang Xuan had not coveted that negligible increase in strength from taking the profession. What he truly wanted were the profession passives and exclusive professional ability unlocked upon taking it.
And the three professional skills newly refreshed on the system panel made an unconcealable look of satisfaction appear on Jiang Xuan's face.
[Ding, you have successfully taken the Main Profession: Qi Refiner] [Your physical constitution and Soul Spirit quality have received a slight increase. Spell Power has successfully been nurtured within your body (effect has stacked)] [You have obtained the profession passives: Refining Essence into Qi, Qi Perception] [You have obtained the exclusive profession ability: Dao Foundation Contract]
There was no need to elaborate on the effects of Refining Essence into Qi. At its core, it transformed a Cultivator's own vitality and blood into Spell Power. The spiritual energy of this world was abundant, so Cultivators like Jiang Xuan did not need to forcibly convert their vitality and blood through direct depletion. They only needed to draw the world's spiritual energy into their bodies through breathing exercises, then infuse and refine it with their own vitality and blood, turning it to their own use.
"It would count as a divine skill in a lifeless land devoid of spiritual energy, but I probably won't set foot in such a place."
Jiang Xuan shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze to the second profession passive—Qi Perception.
As its name implied, this was an extraordinary perception of all kinds of "qi" between heaven and earth.
Used outwardly, it allowed him to accurately discern the distribution and density of spiritual energy, as well as trace the paths of various unusual qi, such as Killing Intent, astral qi, blood qi, yin qi, and yang qi.
Used inwardly, it would allow him to control his own spiritual energy and Spell Power with ever greater smoothness and ease, as naturally as moving an arm or finger.
"Improving my perception and control of spiritual energy is fairly practical."
Though these two passive abilities were quite good, they were still far inferior to the benefits Jiang Xuan had received from the Clearheart Mirror and Heart Sincerity (Sword).
He had long been mentally prepared for that—Clear-Heart Sword Disciple was a Purple Precious Grade profession, while a Qi Refiner apprentice could only be rated Blue Rare Grade. Their ranks and potential were never on the same level to begin with.
Fortunately, the Qi Refiner also possessed a true trump card that struck directly at Jiang Xuan's needs.
The Dao Foundation Contract was the core objective of his taking this profession.
As everyone knew, the countless Dao Arts of the cultivation world had all been created by those who came before.
And since they had been created by predecessors, these methods would inevitably be most compatible with the Root Bone and Dao Path of their creators.
Moreover, just as no two leaves in the world were completely alike, neither were any two people. Later Cultivators like Jiang Xuan differed from their forebears in Root Bone, comprehension, and Dao heart. Thus, cultivating these external Dao Arts would inevitably bring a degree of estrangement and incompatibility.
This incompatibility meant that when Cultivators practiced the techniques of past sages, at best their progress would be slow; at worst, they would be unable to begin at all. If they forced themselves to cultivate, they even risked qi deviation and the collapse of their Dao Foundation.
The Dao Foundation Contract, however, could solve this problem at its root.
Using a Cultivator's origin Dao Foundation as the contract vessel and a Divine Soul imprint as the sole proof, it established an exclusive Dao contract for cultivated techniques, sword arts, and Spell Arts. It deeply bound external Dao Arts to one's own Dao Path, allowing them to grow in the same rhythm and completely eliminating the barrier between the technique and oneself.
Put simply, it could transform any technique or Spell Arts into a personal life-bound art, one wholly of the same origin as one's own foundation.
After cultivating Spell Arts over a long period, it could even completely merge into one's innate talent, as natural as a divine dragon commanding wind and rain from birth, or a Spirit Wood carrying out photosynthesis—perfectly seamless, requiring no external aid.
"A powerful ability, but it has limitations. Because my rank is insufficient, I can currently establish an exclusive Dao contract with only one technique."
Thinking of this, Jiang Xuan looked at the two core techniques he cultivated and fell into a difficult choice.
"Should I choose the One Qi Sword Art, or the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method?"
The benefits of choosing the One Qi Sword Art were obvious: after establishing the Dao contract, the technique would become completely compatible with him, reducing its cultivation difficulty severalfold. The fusion of the Five-Organ Origin Qi, which others found as difficult as climbing to heaven, would be within easy reach for him.
Not to mention that the One Qi Sword Art could also synergize with Clear-Heart Sword Disciple.
"But the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method isn't weak either."
His exchanges with Dong Hao over the past days had already allowed Jiang Xuan to understand the future potential of this Divine Firmament Sect introductory technique.
Just as the One Qi Sword Art would undergo a qualitative transformation upon reaching Third Realm: Proficient, the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method would likewise undergo a complete transformation at the Third Realm.
At that time, he would gain a core ability called [Cosmic Cycle Circulation].
This core trait would allow his Spell Power to automatically complete its cosmic circulation within his body at every moment, as naturally as breathing.
And that meant that from then on, whether sitting, lying down, walking, awake, or asleep, he would be cultivating.
Furthermore, Spell Power circulating through his meridians at all times meant his physical body would constantly be bolstered by Spell Power. When facing an enemy, he would not need to draw Spell Power from his dantian—it could be unleashed directly from his meridians at a touch, multiplying the speed of his attacks. And this ceaseless Spell Power cycle was equivalent to a permanent defensive line, capable of automatically resisting external assaults.
Once cultivated to great mastery, the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method's Cosmic Cycle Circulation could even interact with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. At that point, he would possess a Spell Power shield that operated constantly, automatically absorbing worldly spiritual energy to replenish itself.
"As expected of a top great sect. The Divine Firmament Sect's introductory technique may not possess the strongest offensive power, but its ability to preserve one's life and its cultivation stability have been pushed straight to the limit."