When the two dropped to their knees, Jack stood there dazed. He didn’t pay attention to the two at the moment but rather, he stood there closed eyes as he tried to look over his gains. His body felt a lot lighter but at the same time, he had a feeling as though it was several times more powerful than before. Whether it be his senses or his overall body strength.

They all had been upgraded several times over. This was the drawback of having your strength rise rapidly. It threw your balance out of whack and you needed to take a bit of time to adjust to the rapid increase in your senses and body strength.

Although he hadn’t tested it out, he was quite confident in lifting 300kg with relative ease now. But at the same time, he had difficulty in limiting his hearing, focusing his eyes and using the right amount of strength for basic movements such as walking, picking things or just waving his hand. As he slowly went over all his gains, he opened his eyes and focused them on the two kneeling before him.

Sensing his gaze, the two looked at him and then the muscular man respectfully handed Jack he token back. He then said, “This lowly one is Wood Cutter. Wood Cutter pays his respects to Master.”

Then the slender woman also respectfully added, “This lowly one is named Nagi. Nagi pays her respects to Master.”

Jack took the token and nodded his head, “My name is Jack. Just call me by my name in the future or by the nickname Little Ji.” As he said the words “Little Ji” his gaze grew soft as he thought back to his previous life. “Little Ji” was a nickname that he was called by through his whole life. Only the people close to him knew of this nickname and because of that, the name held a special meaning to him. The only reason he felt the two were qualified to call him that was because these two will now be stuck with him for the rest of his life.

The two exchanged a glance and the slender woman said, “With all due respect, Master is Master...” But before she could finish her sentence Jack said, “We will be stuck together for a long time, if you have any respect for me as your Master, then call me Little Ji.” The two couldn’t refute him any more and dejectedly agreed to call him Little Ji from now on. Wood Cutter then told him how to bind the token and take control of the world inside the pagoda.

However, one thing that made Jack dumbstruck was that he couldn’t completely bind this world and carry it on himself as he willed unless he reached the Empyrean level. At most, the Token would allow him to take command of the Islands and all of the things that came with it but he couldn’t access the true Legacy Treasures left behind by the old man unless he reached the Empyrean Stage. Although the environment given to him was the top grade of the top grade and would even make most Core Disciples of various Major Powers green with envy, it wasn’t much to the old man.

Through his entire life, he hadn’t taken in any disciples or living retainers. The only ones he had were the two golems: Wood Cutter and Nagi. As Jack listened to Wood Cutters explanation, he couldn’t help but have mixed thoughts on the matter.

Although he left the best environment for training for Jack, he didn’t leave him much more. Of the Artefacts in the Hall, he could at best choose two Weapon, One Defensive and one Movement Artefact. These were all Top Grade Artefacts, although he couldn’t use them to their full strength, it was still better than nothing. However, he didn’t receive even a single Seal.

Seal’s were one time use items that had tremendous power or special abilities such as being able to teleport. A Top Grade Defensive Seal could even guard against an attack that could destroy an entire Minor World. Similarly a Top Grade Offensive Seal could release a strike that could destroy an entire Minor World. At early stages of cultivation, Seals were far more beneficial than Artefacts themselves were, so it was understandable that Jack was a bit disappointed.

However, at the same time, he still had the Nura Clan behind his back, so obtaining some Spacial Seals or Defensive Seals wouldn’t be that difficult for him. After listening to Wood Cutter’s explanation, he bound the Token according to the instructions and headed towards the Library.

Inside the Library, there was the [Cultivation Art] the old man left for him and also several other [Offensive Arts], [Defensive Arts] and [Movement Arts]. But like with the Artefacts, he could only choose two [Offensive Arts], one [Defensive Art] and one [Movement Art].

Jack frowned and as he asked about it from Wood Cutter, he could only give a helpless shrug as he said, “All of the [Arts] will become available to you once you bind this “Starry Island”. Before that, you can only follow the rules laid down by the Old Master.” Jack sighed as he understood why the old man limited the things he left him.

It wasn’t good to bite off more than he could chew and learn everything at once. The number of [Arts] he permitted him to learn were exactly the number that wasn’t too little or too much. Two [Offensive Arts] to give him a bit of variability. As for [Defensive Arts] and [Movement Arts] it was several times better to focus on cultivating one and reaching perfection in it rather than start mixing all sorts of [Arts] together and end up with a mix mash of a failure.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

**

When Jack entered the Library, he needed a short while to calm himself. In front of him were rows upon rows of bookshelves, all filled with various [Arts], comprehensions of different Dao’s and hundreds of auxiliary or just low levelled [Arts].

As Jack swept his gaze over the bookshelves, the old man appeared in front of him again. However, now there hung a small smile on his lips and his eyes were filled with warmth. Jack looked at the old man and cupped his hands and gave a small bow. The old man nodded and then said, “All of these [Arts] here are for you to use for you own reference.”

He then gently waved his hand and Jack felt some formless pressure slowly lift him up and made him follow the old man as the old man flew towards the deeper end of the Library.

On the way, the old man kept explaining, “The path of cultivation is to seek your own Dao.” His gaze then turned serious as he said, “Everyone has a unique path completely suited for themselves. Only by traversing this path can they truly reach the apex and stand tall at the top.”

He took a breath and then coldly added as a warning, “Yes, you can follow someone else’s path and reach far but you will never be able to reach the top. Your strength will also be mediocre, your comprehensions will be half baked and you would be a laughing stock of the Realm.” Jack nodded his head as he listened and understood what the old man was trying to say.

Even if he followed the old man’s Legacy for now, at some point in time, he would still need to find his own path. All of the [Arts] that the old man had collected or developed over the years can only be used as a reference to find and solidify his own path. That is the only true way to tread the path of cultivation…. Not by relying on the path laid down before him but rather taking a blade and carving his own bloody path.

Soon, the old man came to a stop in the far end of the Library. Here, there were three glowing bubbles that each encompassed three different set’s of [Arts]. When he arrived in front of the three sets, the pressure enveloping Jack also disappeared.

The old man pointed towards the three sets and said, “These three sets are complementary [Arts] that form a complete set that will allow you to train to the Empyrean level. However, each of these three sets follows a completely different path.”

He then closed his eyes and crossed his hands on his chest as he gave Jack his final piece of advise, “Look through the abridged versions of each and take a while to decide on which you wish to pick. You will have only one choice and you can’t change it later on.” After saying so, the old man fell silent as he waited for Jack to pick one of the three sets.

Jack carefully walked in front of the three glowing orbs and then pick up the jade slip in front of each. As he sent a sliver of Qi into one, he could see the contents of the orb and explanation on the effects of the [Arts]. The first set was for a Sword Cultivator. It encompassed a [Sword Art], [Refining Art of a Sword Cultivator], a [Sword Movement Art] and a [Sword Soul Nurturing Art]. After looking through the Abridged Version, Jack set the jade slip down and gently shook his head.

Although the Dao of the Sword was strong, if not even the strongest Offensive Path one can take, it was not quite suited for him. Sword Cultivators could only walk the path by giving up everything for their sword. Jack knew that this path was not very suited for him.

He then walked over to the second set and picked up the jade slip to see the contents. The second set was for a Close Combat Cultivator. It encompassed a [Close Combat Art], [Refining Art for Close Combat], a [Close Combat Movement Art] and a [Close Combat Soul Nurturing Art]. Jack pondered on this one and put it as a maybe.

Hand to hand combat was something he was familiar with and he truly was intrigued by what he read. When reaching the Empyrean level in this path, his body would be as strong as a Top Grade Artefact and his punches and kicks could shatter mountains or create oceans. The only drawback was that he had to close in on his opponent to do anything. Close Combat Experts had very limited mid to long distance skills that they could use and they generally took up a lot of Qi with each cast.

He could use it once or twice but not any more as he would just run out of Qi and be a pig for slaughter. Although there was the deficiency of having to be in your opponents face to do anything, the [Movement Art] somewhat made up for this deficiency as it was specifically for closing in or creating distance between your opponent and yourself.

As Jack put down the jade slip, his eyes turned to the last glowing orb. He walked over to it and picked up the jade slip to see its contents. To his surprise, this set was for cultivating the Scythe. The more Jack looked into the contents, the more intrigued he was. The Scythe was a weird weapon that could only be classified as a pole arm.

It was like a spear but at the same time it was not. It was like a halberd but at the same time it was completely different. And what made Jack even more curious about this set was that instead of there being 4 [Arts] there were 5 in this set. [Scythe Art], [Refining Art for the Scythe Cultivator], [Scythe Movement Art], [Scythe Soul Nurturing Art] and a defensive/auxiliary [Art] called the [Nine Nether Chains Art].

This [Nine Nether Chains Art] was what intrigued Jack the most. As he scanned the Jade slip over and over, he suddenly felt a tugging feeling in his chest. Something that told him, “This is it!” As he set down the jade slip, he turned to the old man and without a single bit of hesitation, he said, “I choose the Scythe Set.”

Hearing Jack’s resolute words, the old man grinned as he said, “The two of us truly have been brought together by fate.”