Choosing a cultivation method

After the general knowledge class ended, they had a short break before their spell arts class began.

The spell arts training grounds were paved with hard greenheart stone. Faint traces of formations flickered around the perimeter, clearly intended to prevent the students from accidentally injuring one another during practice.

The instructor responsible for the spell arts class was named Ji Yu.

Unlike Zhou Changkong, with his stern, resolute appearance, Ji Yu was a beautiful woman dressed in pale purple palace robes.

She had a voluptuous figure and a gentle air about her features, yet when her eyes shifted, they hinted at a seasoned shrewdness that could see straight into people's hearts.

"The path of spell arts takes countless forms and varies from person to person."

Ji Yu's voice was soft, yet it reached every student's ears clearly. "Unlike the rote memorization of general knowledge classes, your choice of spell arts and cultivation methods must suit your spiritual energy's attributes and the direction of your cultivation. Only then can you achieve twice the results with half the effort."

"For today's first lesson, I won't teach any specific spell arts. Instead, I will 'diagnose your ailments and take your pulses' to point out the direction your cultivation should take."

Everyone perked up at her words.

This was precisely what concerned all the new students most.

Once they entered the Dao Academy and received their gray registers, they became eligible to obtain a ranked cultivation method and its accompanying spell arts from the Scripture Repository free of charge.

This was the greatest benefit the Dao Academy offered its newcomers. None of them wanted to choose the wrong path and squander such a fine opportunity.

"Let's start with this row, then."

Ji Yu casually pointed to the left.

The first to step forward was Jiang Kuo.

The slightly chubby boy was usually all smiles, but he restrained himself somewhat in front of the instructor. He bowed respectfully, then sat cross-legged as instructed and circulated his spell power.

As his cultivation method began to circulate, a faint yellow halo appeared around Jiang Kuo, giving off a sense of weight and steadiness.

Then he formed hand seals. The ground trembled slightly, and a sharp stone spike suddenly thrust up through a gap in the greenheart paving stones.

"You use the Minor Qi Gathering Technique as your foundation, but you've already refined a wisp of pure earth spiritual energy within your body. You've also attained a fair degree of mastery in your family's Rock Spire Method."

A single glance was enough for Ji Yu to nod slightly and offer her assessment. "You've taken a steady path. Though the Minor Qi Gathering Technique is only mortal-grade, it embraces all streams like the sea and has laid a good foundation for you. Now that you've entered the Dao Academy, there's no need to cling to this basic method."

"Go to the Scripture Repository and obtain the Thick Earth Formula. Its power is weighty and enduring, making it the best match for your earth spiritual energy. It can also enhance the power and resilience of your Rock Spire Method."

"Thank you for your guidance, Instructor Ji!" Jiang Kuo was overjoyed.

The elders in his family had mentioned the Thick Earth Formula as an excellent choice. Now that his instructor had confirmed it, his mind was thoroughly at ease.

Next, Ji Yu examined several more students in turn.

For one whose metal spiritual energy was keen and sharp, she recommended the Geng Metal Sword Qi Formula; for another whose wood spiritual energy brimmed with ceaseless vitality, she recommended the Evergreen Wood Cultivation Method.

Soon, it was Chu Bai's turn.

Chu Bai took a deep breath, stepped forward, and sat cross-legged.

With a slight shift of his thoughts, he set the [Minor Qi Gathering Technique] into motion.

In an instant, a pale blue halo of spiritual power appeared around him. Rather than a simple watery blue, it possessed a warm, gentle, jade-like quality. It flowed without the slightest obstruction and even carried a faint sense of purity, as though it could wash away the dust of the world.

"Rise!"

Chu Bai gave a low cry and pointed a fingertip.

The moisture in the air instantly condensed into three slender, almost transparent needles that hovered before him. With a slight movement of his spiritual sense, the three water needles wheeled and danced nimbly through the air, as though alive.

"Oh?"

At the sight, a flash of surprise suddenly crossed Ji Yu's gentle eyes, replacing her previously composed expression.

She stepped forward and carefully sensed the fluctuations of spell power emanating from Chu Bai.

"Balanced and harmonious, yet gentle and lively... is this 'pure bathing spirit flow'?"

Ji Yu looked at Chu Bai in surprise. "Your spiritual energy foundation is actually dominated by pure-origin spiritual qi, yet it has perfectly merged with a strand of special, wild water-attribute spiritual energy. Such a fortuitous encounter is rare indeed."

Those with a strong family heritage were usually trained from childhood to cultivate spiritual energy of a specific attribute.

Someone like Chu Bai, who first cultivated attribute-less pure-origin spiritual qi and then merged wild spiritual energy into that foundation without damaging it, had often experienced a fortuitous encounter. It also meant he possessed the tenacity to endure the tedium and risks of refining killing intent.

But his spiritual energy's attributes were not what truly surprised Ji Yu.

"This efficiency in drawing in and expelling qi... this seamless circulation of spell power..."

Ji Yu's gaze sharpened, and she blurted out, "You've actually cultivated the Minor Qi Gathering Technique to the proficient level?!"

Her words immediately stirred an uproar around them.

"Proficient?"

"Doesn't that mean he's drilled that basic method right into his bones?"

"I practiced the Minor Qi Gathering Technique for half a year before barely getting started. How did Chu Bai train?"

As fellow students of Class Three, they naturally understood how difficult that was.

For most people, it was merely a beginner's method to serve as a stepping stone. As long as it allowed qi induction, that was enough. Who would spend vast amounts of time stubbornly grinding away at its proficiency?

Yet Chu Bai had not only ground away at it—he had reached proficiency!

Ji Yu looked at Chu Bai. The advice she had prepared reached her lips, only to be swallowed back down. For a moment, she found herself in a dilemma.

Normally, given the obvious water-attribute spiritual energy in Chu Bai's body, recommending the Clearstream Qi-Nourishing Scripture would have been the proper course.

It specialized in the water element, possessed considerable power, and was an excellent match for his Spirit Water Needle.

But...

Watching his pure-origin spiritual qi flow as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, Ji Yu sighed inwardly. Having him switch to a purely water-element method would certainly strengthen him in battle, but it would also squander this fine foundation and waste so much of his progress.

The very reason he had been able to bring the Minor Qi Gathering Technique to proficiency was its capacity to embrace and accommodate different energies.

After a moment's consideration, a glint of resolve flashed in Ji Yu's eyes.

"Chu Bai, I have two options for you."

Ji Yu raised two fingers, her expression solemn. "The first, and safest, is to obtain the Clearstream Qi-Nourishing Scripture. This method focuses exclusively on the water element and complements the pure bathing spirit flow within you. Once you switch to it, the power of your spell arts will improve as immediately as a pole casts its shadow."

Then her tone shifted. "But... your pure-origin foundation is astonishingly solid, and your Minor Qi Gathering Technique has already reached proficiency. Switching to a single attribute would rather waste this talent for 'compatibility.'"

"Thus, my second option—the Origin Return Formula."

At the name, several well-informed students from aristocratic clans wore strange expressions.

"The Origin Return Formula? Isn't that just a hodgepodge?"

"I heard that thing lets you cultivate everything, but excels at nothing."

Ji Yu ignored the whispers around them. She simply looked into Chu Bai's eyes and explained, "The Origin Return Formula is, in fact, a higher-tier advancement of the Minor Qi Gathering Technique. Its greatest feature is its balanced, harmonious nature, which encompasses all things."

"If you choose it, all your proficient-level insights into your current method can carry over perfectly, without any awkwardness in the transition. Moreover, this method favors no particular attribute. If you encounter other opportunities in the future and wish to practice techniques of other attributes as well, that will be much easier."

"However... compared with methods that specialize in a single path, it is indeed somewhat mediocre in killing power and bursts of elemental strength. How you weigh those trade-offs is entirely up to you."

Having finished, Ji Yu watched Chu Bai quietly, awaiting his answer.

But waves were already surging in Chu Bai's heart.

The Origin Return Formula!

An ordinary cultivator might choose to specialize in water methods in pursuit of immediate combat strength.

But he was different.

He had [Relentless Toil] to guarantee his baseline, [Food Injury Leaks Elegance] to guarantee his speed, and, beyond those, his newly awakened [Seal and Ribbon Mutual Generation].

If there was one thing he did not fear, it was a method that was difficult to cultivate.

As long as he could grind away at it, he could make even a mediocre method blossom.

The Origin Return Formula offered greater compatibility. Relatively speaking, it was easy to learn but hard to master, yet its ceiling was higher.

It was practically a foundation stone tailor-made for him.

Chu Bai drew a deep breath and bowed deeply to Ji Yu, his gaze firm.

"Thank you for showing me the way, Instructor Ji. I've made my decision. I choose the Origin Return Formula."