"If I chose one of these traditions, could I go straight to the Demon Ruins with its token?"
Old Xie said, "It's not that simple. The token only means you've earned preliminary eligibility. If you take it to the outskirts of the Demon Ruins, someone will naturally receive you, but whether you can truly become a core disciple of that tradition will depend on your own abilities."
"Still... with this token in hand, you'll start far ahead of the others. Xin Mountain is dead, so taking his token there now and filling his place would be perfect timing."
Sheng Nian pondered this. If he were in no hurry to reach the Central Region, he could choose a tradition and spend a few years in the Demon Ruins first, shearing some wool off their backs.
"Don't tell me the Demon Ruins selected talent this way back when you were still alive, tens of thousands of years ago..."
"Of course not. Before you ate the Dragon Pearl, I spent a few years in the Demon Ruins too."
"Oh..."
Sheng Nian looked at the three tokens and asked, "Don't you claim to be one of the founding patriarchs of the Asura Path? Why aren't you telling me to join that tradition?"
"Did the Rogue Cultivator of Xin Mountain knock you stupid? With me teaching you, wouldn't that cover the little the Asura Path has to offer?"
Sheng Nian froze.
That did seem to make sense.
Then his gaze returned to the Yellow Springs Way token. "Speaking of which, there's something I've been meaning to ask."
"Why does the last character in those Yellow Springs Way cultivators' names always seem to be 'ming'? Is that some strange rule?"
Old Xie answered, "It wasn't like that in our day. Who knows which generation of their