The Thirteen Divine Pathways

It wasn't long before nine o'clock.

A middle-aged man in the white robe of a Hunter's Guild steward brought in a burly man dressed in hunter attire.

The two walked into the conference room.

The man in the white robe began by introducing the burly man beside him, saying, "Our lecturer today is Guild Honorary Steward and Deputy Leader of the Storm Hunter Group, Second-Order Spell Card Master 'Greatsword' Mr. Bernie. Let's give him a warm welcome!"

Immediately, the large conference hall erupted in enthusiastic applause.

The burly man didn't waste any time and started his lecture.

"Some of you may have heard this before, while others may not know or don't know it clearly, so today I will explain it all in detail."

"There are thirteen Divine Pathways for Spell Card Masters, which are: [A-Courage], [2-Corruption], [3-Healing], [4-Mystery], [5-Wisdom], [6-Order], [7-Art], [8-Elements], [9-Destruction], [10-Miracle], [J-War], [Q-Love], [K-Royalty]."

"Each pathway leads to the power of world rules that can condense a Divine Spark!"

"And for each of the thirteen Divine Pathways, there are four professional sequences to choose from. This is what we commonly refer to as the fifty-two professional sequences."

"For example, the Ace of Swords corresponds to four professional advancement directions: [Ace of Spades-Black Knight], [Ace of Hearts-Light Warrior], [Ace of Clubs-Fighter], and [Ace of Diamonds-Samurai]. There are also the Sequence 2 corresponding [2 of Spades-Thief], [2 of Hearts-Ranger], [2 of Clubs-Assassin], [2 of Diamonds-Trickster]."

"Although the four professional sequences of the Ace of Swords all belong to the same 'Courage' pathway, each choice of profession specializes in different areas and points to different Demon Gods, resulting in different combat styles. The Black Knight follows a dark-attribute heavy armor guardian route, the Light Warrior leans towards flesh and blood growth, the Fighter is a natural Qi Gong master and skill expert, and the Samurai is a weapon specialist."

"When you reach Curse Power Stage Nine, you will face a choice of profession, which will allow you to break through your physical limits again, leading to a surge in combat power. For us Hunters, if we were to choose a professional advancement sequence, [A-Courage], [2-Corruption], and [3-Healing] are definitely the optimal choices."

"..."

'Greatsword' Bernie's lecture covered very basic knowledge, but Ji Xun listened intently.

At this moment, he finally had a clear understanding of the cultivation system in this Spell Card Master world.

So that's how it worked.

And coincidentally, all the professions of the Spell Card Masters, when arranged, formed a fifty-two-card deck of playing cards.

The more he learned about the Spell Card Master system, the more profound, vast, deep, and anciently mysterious it felt.

Could the end of a sequence lead to godhood?

Ji Xun listened with increasing seriousness.

Even with just this superficial knowledge, he felt his own insignificance and a growing sense of awe.

Bernie focused on explaining the first three sequences. Ji Xun understood them as:

A was for warriors;

2 was for assassins;

3 was for healers.

The reason he focused on these three was that they had the lowest barrier to entry for ordinary people, required the most common Demon Marks, and the professional materials were the easiest to find.

Those who attended these free lectures were usually from the lower strata of Sinless City, and his words were practical.

Ji Xun listened and carefully considered which professional path would be most suitable for him in the future.

Given his talent for [Demon Feast], his physical attributes would be very strong in the future.

This meant that the four warrior-oriented professions under [A-Courage] seemed quite fitting.

[JOKER] had a passive talent that allowed him to transfer professions without being restricted by sequences. This meant he could become an assassin, a healer, or even other professions later on without any issues.

While he was pondering this, 'Greatsword' Bernie also touched upon Demon Marks, continuing, "However, before choosing a professional sequence, the most important thing is to fuse with a 'Demon Mark'. Only by fusing with a mark and receiving the Demon God's recognition do we become Transcendent."

He looked at the audience and said, "Some of you here are already apprentice hunters who have fused with Demon Marks, and you must have experienced the boost to your physical growth that the marks provide. The fifty-two Demon Marks point to fifty-two powerful Demon Gods. Each Demon possesses its own unique abilities. Finding a compatible mark and gaining the Demon God's recognition will be the greatest asset of your lives."

As soon as he said this.

The young men in the audience who had fused with marks displayed proud expressions, unable to hide their self-satisfaction.

Transcendent beings and ordinary people were fundamentally different.

Ji Xun looked at his physical stats, which were all above 3, and felt a deep sense of understanding.

Those who hadn't fused with marks looked on with extreme envy.

Bernie continued, "Generally speaking, the professional sequence corresponding to the mark has the highest compatibility with the Card Master. For example, [Mark of Ace of Spades] points to the great Demon God Eliog. The demonic laws He masters grant one an extremely strong physique and resistance to damage. Fusing with this mark will result in very high compatibility for advancing to the [Black Knight] professional sequence. Of course, the original fifty-two professional sequences were created to align with the powers of the fifty-two Demon Gods, and through countless improvements by ancient sages, the current Spell Card Master system was born."

As soon as he said this, someone immediately asked, "Mr. Bernie, does that mean that once a Spell Card Master chooses a professional sequence, they can't change it? For example, if we are a First-Order [Black Knight], must we also fuse with the subsequent advancement cards for [Black Knight] in the Second Order?"

"No, of course not."

Bernie smiled and shook his head, explaining, "Some sequences can be interchanged at higher levels. For instance, [Ace of Spades-Black Knight] and [4 of Spades-Beast Walker], which also has dark-attribute growth, can be interchanged. However, this is advanced knowledge that is difficult for novice Spell Card Masters to understand, so we won't delve into it today."

Ji Xun listened to the conversation silently, which resolved many of his doubts.

Fifty-two Demon Gods corresponded to fifty-two professional sequences.

Each professional sequence also had First-Order, Second-Order, Third-Order, and so on, subsequent exclusive advancement cards.

And although there seemed to be only fifty-two professions, in reality, there would be thousands upon thousands.

For example, the growth direction of [Ace of Spades-Black Knight] is a dark-attribute heavy armor warrior, which is a fixed formula. However, depending on the quality of the materials found for refining advancement cards, it could become: Ghost Knight, Plague Knight, or Hellfire Knight, all of which are dark-attribute flesh and blood growth directions.

Theoretically speaking, every Spell Card Master is unique.

Even if two individuals are both First-Order Black Knights, there wouldn't be two Spell Card Masters in the world with exactly the same abilities.

The fact that certain professional sequences can be converted and interchanged allows for countless professional combinations.

"Teacher Bernie, are the later sequences more powerful? Like the 'Queen Card Q' and 'King Card K'?"

"No, that's a misconception many people have. There's no strongest sequence, only the strongest Spell Card Master. The legendary powerhouses who made it into the history books have come from almost every sequence. For example, the federal legendary powerhouse 'Silver-Eyed Lion' Kamon from twenty years ago was a peak expert of the [Ace of Clubs-Fighter] sequence; the current legendary thief emperor 'Night Shadow' Kuntu also initially advanced from the [2 of Spades-Thief] sequence. They weren't so-called high sequences."

"But if you have the means, you should try your best to choose Demon Marks of better quality to awaken your transcendent abilities."

"For example, a normal quality [Mark of Ace of Spades] usually has attributes like physique, resilience, strength, and growth in Dark Affinity. However, even when pointing towards the powerful demon god Eliog, a Black Iron quality mark will have over 10% more overall growth attributes. Silver is even stronger. This gap will only grow larger in the later stages. So, if you can find high-quality Demon Marks, fuse with higher quality ones whenever possible. The two legendary powerhouses I mentioned earlier, one fused with a Gold Quality mark, and the other with a rare Legendary Mark."

"Wow!"

Hearing this, hundreds of young eyes were filled with admiration for the strong and longing for the future.

Gold Quality, Legendary Quality...

For the people at the bottom of Sinless City, these were legends that only appeared in stories, always stirring their blood whenever they were mentioned.

But no matter how distant they seemed, it couldn't extinguish the dream of every young person to become a legend.

"Mr. Bernie, if, if we could, how would we obtain rare marks?"

"Challenge high-difficulty Alternate Dimensions! Slay rare Calamities, or achieve a B-Class or above clearance rating, and you might obtain Black Iron Quality or higher mark cards. For instance, the [Anomaly 407 Containment Facility], which you've likely heard a lot about recently, has produced a precious Silver Mark Card."

"I see."

"Ah, I can't wait to become a Hunter and explore dungeons! If I could find a Silver Mark, I'd be set for life."

"I don't have such high requirements, a Black Iron Mark would be enough. Hahaha."

"..."

At this, the young men also became excited.

Bernie spoke at the opportune moment, smiling, "This is why teamwork is important. If you join a Hunter group, the team will specifically acquire the materials you need, and there will be plenty of free intel to let everyone know where to get the marks they need. Even for choosing your future profession as a Spell Card Master, the Hunter's Guild has the most complete and advanced sequences in Sinless City."

Ji Xun heard this and immediately understood the nature of this "free lecture."

It was like sales in his previous life; while imparting knowledge, they also had to gain something.

The Hunter's Guild had invited the vice-leader of a large Hunter group to lecture. Mr. Bernie was naturally here to recruit talented new blood for his team.

However, signing with major Hunter groups was akin to becoming a long-term laborer.

It wasn't necessarily bad, but it meant less freedom and some mandatory missions.

Furthermore, large guilds needed to ensure their team's development, so they would take a cut from certain missions and earnings.

Normally, it would be about ten to twenty percent of the earnings.

This was something many people found unacceptable, feeling exploited for nothing.

But from a certain perspective, while individuals might fail to clear Alternate Dimensions, elite teams could, leading to even greater rewards.

Moreover, the sharing of team resources and intel would help ordinary Hunters avoid many detours.

As for the trade-offs, it depended on individual needs.

Bernie on stage continued to talk about breathing techniques.

"Besides Demon Marks, the most important thing for a Card Master Apprentice is breathing techniques. A good breathing technique can multiply the efficiency of Curse Power cultivation."

We can liken Curse Power to water. Breathing techniques not only replenish the body with water but also shape a water-holding vat. The better the quality of the breathing technique, the larger and sturdier the vat, the more water it can hold, and the faster it can fill...

"Of course, for ordinary Hunters, high-quality breathing techniques are almost exclusively accessible through large Hunter groups. If you wanted to buy one, a Black Iron Quality breathing technique might require working in a factory for several years without eating or drinking to afford."

"As for some rare breathing techniques, they are even harder to come by. Take our Storm Hunter Group's [Storm Breathing Technique], for example. It's a Silver Quality wind-type breathing technique, worth at least a million. And it's simply not available on the market. We would absolutely never sell it. But by joining our Storm Hunter Group, you'll immediately be gifted a compatible basic breathing technique. With enough contributions later on, you can completely acquire a Silver Breathing Technique for free."

"..."

Once again, knowledge was being imparted while simultaneously advertising the Storm group.

This made the entire conference room buzz with excitement.

With so many benefits to joining a Hunter group, the young Hunters were already eager.

Ji Xun remained unmoved.

However, upon hearing these words, he finally understood how the quality of breathing techniques was classified.

After listening to the lecture, he became even more eager to switch his breathing technique.

The later you start practicing, the more you lose out.

It was clear that a Silver Breathing Technique could cultivate the Curse Power that a normal breathing technique might take a month to achieve in just ten days.

This was the difference in breathing technique quality.

Ji Xun planned to visit the market carefully after the lecture to broaden his horizons, and who knew, he might even find something suitable for himself.

He also intended to inquire if there were any breathing techniques that could absorb multiple elements, as he envisioned.

Thanks to 'GT Wan Li Hong' for the tip, thank you.