The Path of a Class

But before that...

Jiang You looked at the Glowing Blue Stone and Little Turtle at the bottom of the lake. After some thought, he decided not to take them with him.

He had no Storage Equipment. Carrying them around would be like a child walking through a busy market with gold!

Besides, he remembered that Storage Equipment had first appeared only toward the end of the Goblin Empire era in the Second Chapter.

He memorized the location.

Then Jiang You beat his gray-and-white wings and shot into the air, accompanied by faint sounds of wind and thunder!

He rose into the sky.

Now that he had become transcendent, his vision reached far into the distance.

He could clearly see the subordinate races that had belonged to the Blue Dragon King's faction either fleeing for their lives or kneeling in surrender.

Sure enough, the outcome was decided!

Jiang You turned his gaze to the battlefield of the Thunder Titan and the Blue Dragon King nearby.

The Thunder Titan had just swallowed the Blue Dragon King's enormous heart and was now stripping out his tendons, skinning him, and harvesting the valuable parts of his body. Jiang You's eyelid twitched!

A dragon's entire body was a treasure, let alone that of a primordial dragon.

But the Blue Dragon King was the Primordial Dragon Emperor's son. After this battle, the dragons would surely resolve to fight the titans to the death.

The true world-ending war was about to begin!

This was the battle that had lit the fuse!

No, once I get back, I'll take my tribespeople and migrate! We really can't stay on High Barbarian Mountain!

Wherever the Thunder Titan is will see the fiercest fighting. He's the one the primordial dragons want dead most!

Jiang You's heart tightened.

If history hasn't changed, then there's still a year before the War of the Titans and Dragons!

Never mind that. I need to find my tribespeople! Where are they now?

He turned and flew east.

When he had encountered that wyvern earlier and lured it away, his tribespeople had flown east.

Fortunately, the eaglemen were now on the winning side, so he faced no danger flying over the battlefield.

After flying for a while, he finally found a large flock of eaglemen in the sky.

His tribespeople were among them.

But after a quick look, he realized that only thirty-odd of them remained, and every one of them was wounded.

Jiang You frowned and flew over.

His appearance had changed dramatically. Although he still looked like an eagleman, he was distinctly different.

His tribespeople sensed something familiar about him, but they still dared not acknowledge him.

The Thunder Power wreathing his wings clearly marked him as a transcendent powerhouse.

Although the Royal Court had many transcendent eaglemen, every one of them was a valuable fighting force for the Eagleman Royal Court, someone who stood above ordinary eaglemen.

An eagleman warrior with gray-and-black wings and a stone spear flew out from the flock. Clearly much stronger than the others, he spoke respectfully.

"My lord, what brings you here?"

Seeing how completely different this warrior's attitude was from before, Jiang You gained a deeper understanding of what it meant to be transcendent.

"I've come to find my tribespeople!"

"Your tribespeople?"

The Royal Court eagleman sounded puzzled.

"Yes, them!"

With that, he flew over to his tribespeople.

"Everyone, it's me, Jiang You. I've come back alive."

"You? Is it really you?"

A male eagleman flew out from among the tribespeople. Looking at the drastically changed Jiang You, he asked with equal parts joy and doubt.

"A Sang, it's me!"

Jiang You nodded with a smile.

Even after hearing Jiang You say their names so readily,

the eaglemen of the High Barbarian Mountain Tribe still found it hard to believe.

Jiang You had changed so much, and he was now transcendent. It all felt like a dream!

Just as Jiang You was about to ask why only thirty-odd of his tribespeople remained,

the Royal Court eagleman from earlier approached him again and spoke excitedly.

"My lord, you're a newly ascended transcendent eagleman!"

Although Jiang You's appearance had changed dramatically, transcendence varied from person to person, so the Royal Court eagleman saw nothing strange about it.

"That's right!"

Jiang You nodded.

"Since you've become transcendent, my lord, please come with me to seek an audience with the King. He'll certainly be delighted to see you!"

The Royal Court eagleman continued.

"What do I gain from an audience with the King?"

Rather than showing much interest, Jiang You asked a question in return.

Even the worldly Royal Court eagleman was taken aback by those words.

"Leaving your tribe and living in the Royal Court from now on-isn't that the greatest benefit of all?"

Jiang You shook his head.

"Then what about my tribespeople?"

The Royal Court eagleman replied disdainfully.

"Tribesfolk are lowly peasants. They're like the wild grass growing across the wilderness, springing up endlessly. Why concern yourself with them? You need only bring your relatives along, my lord!"

He turned west and spoke reverently.

"Our Eaglemen Royal Court sits upon Heavenly Mountain, rich in resources and blessed with pleasant surroundings. It's also close to His Highness Thunder Titan Yateli's divine palace. That's where the nobility of our race belongs!"

Hearing this, Jiang You felt even more disgusted with the Eaglemen Royal Court.

They're royalty, yet they don't care about their own people. No wonder that by the Fifth Chapter, the eaglemen lose their civilization and end up as monsters without intelligence or a heritage!

He forced down his anger. He had only just become transcendent and lacked the strength to challenge the Royal Court, so he restrained himself and said,

"My tribe raised me. I have no intention of abandoning them yet. But I'd appreciate an introduction to the King."

While he was still too weak, it would be useful to see what the Royal Court was like.

The Royal Court eagleman was unsurprised and smiled.

"All you transcendents born in tribes are like this at first. Once you've been to the Royal Court, you'll change your mind sooner or later. Now, I'll take you to see the King!"

After reassuring his tribespeople, Jiang You followed the Royal Court eagleman warrior to the Eaglemen King's camp.

Upon reaching the Royal Court's camp, Jiang You noticed quite a few transcendent eaglemen. When he entered the Eaglemen King's tent, he saw a fat eagleman ruler wearing a feathered crown seated at the head, discussing something with a middle-aged eagleman.

Jiang You could sense that, although the Eaglemen King's presence fell far short of the Thunder Titan's, he was still much stronger than Jiang You was now.

On his throne,

the Eaglemen King showed little interest in the arrival of a transcendent eagleman.

He glanced down at Jiang You and said flatly,

"Now that you've risen from lowborn stock to become transcendent, serve me well and defend the Royal Court in the future. You may leave."

Then he addressed an attendant.

"Take them to collect two portions of Windfeather Jade Dew, then have a priest explain the post-transcendence class path to the new transcendent."

Inside the great tent,

the Royal Court eagleman warrior who had introduced Jiang You was overjoyed and hurriedly cried out,

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jiang You glanced at him, understanding dawning.

So that's why he brought me here for an audience. He gets a reward.

Still, hearing the word "class" left him somewhat puzzled. For now, he also offered his thanks.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

In the future Fifth Chapter, taking a class would be every transcendent's path to advancement.

Warrior, mage, ranger, priest, night watchman, knight, witch, warlock, sorceress, druid, and so on.

There were also countless branches of the various classes.

Every class had a complete route to becoming a Legendary. One only needed to take up a class; after that, only talent and resources would affect how much stronger one could become. But in this era, things seemed different.

This was the first time he had heard of a class path.

Led by the attendant, he collected the Windfeather Jade Dew, then followed the attendant onward to the priest.

A female eagleman wearing a long robe approached him.

She began her explanation.

"You've already become transcendent, so I'll explain the path of advancement to you."

"The key to advancing is deciding on your own class path!"

"Only after establishing a class path can you advance. A powerful class path can even lead to becoming a Legendary!"

Hearing this, Jiang You felt a stir in his heart.

"May I ask, honored priest, where can we take up an eagleman class?"

"Take up a class?"

The eagleman priestess frowned.

"There are only two ways to obtain a class path: creating it yourself or inheriting it through your bloodline. What do you mean by taking up a class?"

Somewhat bewildered, Jiang You instinctively asked,

"If we can't take up a class, how can we advance to become a Legendary?"

The eagleman priestess gave him a speechless look, then scoffed.

"Hmph, a Legendary? You certainly dream big. On the Ferland Continent, class paths capable of reaching Legendary are exceedingly precious. Right now, only the royal family's Sky Warrior class has a complete route to Legendary."

"A self-created class path is only a rough beginning. It takes many years of effort and constant revision before it can possibly produce a powerful class practitioner."

"That's why every powerful class path can only be passed down through a bloodline!"

At this point, she looked at Jiang You with even greater amusement.

"You have no ancestors whose bloodline you can inherit, so you'll have to create your own class!"

Jiang You remained unmoved by her mockery.

But inwardly, he was shaken. In the future, class initiation sites would be spread throughout the world. Every intelligent being with the aptitude would have a chance to choose a complete path to Legendary and take up its class.

Or rather, classes without a complete legendary path would not survive to be passed down.

Who could have brought about something like that? It was truly astonishing!

Perhaps only a true deity could accomplish such a magnificent feat!

Yet now, a class path capable of reaching Legendary was actually this precious!

One generation planted the trees; the next enjoyed their shade.

People in later generations were truly fortunate!

He had never expected to become one of those who planted the trees himself.

For now, he could only ask,

"Honored priest, please tell me how to create a class!"

"Consume a transcendent substance to awaken your spirit sight. Windfeather Jade Dew qualifies."

"Then use meditation to touch the sea of spirit and construct a transcendent class according to your own ideas!"

"Remember, the class you construct must suit your constitution, attributes, mind, and will!"

"Don't reach too high or stray from reality. Otherwise, your class path will be a dead end from the very beginning!"

"Creating a class path isn't easy either. Have you remembered all that?"

"Yes."

"If you have, then leave!"