Chapter Thirty-Nine: Time to Slay the Monster

After Ye Luo left, Xiao Jie and I fell into a silent contemplation. At this moment, both of us began to seriously consider the viability of different career paths.

Xiao Jie took Ye Luo’s words to heart. What Ye Luo said was true: survival is paramount. Only by staying alive can one hold endless possibilities; once dead, there’s nothing left to discuss. But Xiao Jie’s goal was more than mere survival. If he truly feared death, he wouldn’t be playing this game at all. His purpose was to secure his safety while striving to acquire genuine supernatural powers.

Thus, planning his development path early was crucial. Some opportunities, once missed, might never return.

From what he had gathered so far, the game’s supernatural powers primarily revolved around four categories: gods, immortals, demons, and ghosts. Beyond these, there were internal cultivation techniques, yin-yang talismans, mechanical beast taming, and various professional skills—but compared to the powers of gods, immortals, demons, and ghosts, these seemed considerably weaker.

Naturally, he wanted to pursue the highest level of power.

The divine path relied on faith, which Xiao Jie dismissed outright since his faith was only a 7. Growing up in a new society under the red flag, he felt no connection to gods or spirits, viewing them as mere superstition. Even after encountering this miraculous game, his view had not shifted much.

The ghost path also didn’t appeal to him; it just didn’t seem like a good choice.

That left only the immortal and demon paths.

Of course, the best was to become an immortal—it sounded so prestigious, so lofty. But if becoming an immortal proved impossible, learning demon arts was also acceptable.

Choosing a career path boiled down to either advancement or dual specialization. There was no way he would take on three scattered, miscellaneous roles. Years of gaming had taught Xiao Jie one thing: never go against the game designers. To succeed, one had to play the strongest classes in the current version.

Based on his skills, equipment, and information, Xiao Jie quickly mapped out several routes:

Route 1: Swordsman — Taoist — Swordmaster.

He would level to 9, then go to the city to learn swordsmanship. Upon reaching level 10, he would officially become a swordsman. Between levels 10 and 19, he would seek to trigger a special event to gain spell abilities. At level 20, he would take on the Taoist role part-time, and by level 30, he would dual specialize as a Swordmaster.

He wanted to learn swordsmanship mainly because it matched the immortal path best. The Swordmaster sounded impressive—riding the wind across the seas, wielding the sword across the lands, transforming into a sword immortal with robes as white as snow and swordsmanship like a rainbow. Just imagining it felt incredibly cool.

Route 2: Ranger/Blade Master — Taoist — ????

He would level normally to 10 and unlock either the Ranger or Blade Master class, then between levels 10 and 19 try to trigger a special event for spell abilities. At level 20, he would take on Taoist part-time, and by level 30 combine blade techniques with Taoist arts for a dual specialization.

This route was similar to Route 1. Its advantage was that he wouldn’t need to slow his leveling to learn swordsmanship, reducing early risks. The downside was uncertainty whether the dual specialization at level 30 would unlock. However, Xiao Jie believed there must be a similar dual specialization involving blades and Taoist magic, just as there was one for swords and Taoism. He just needed to research more to uncover it.

Route 3: Taoist — ??? — ???

This route was very risky. He would need to raise his spiritual attribute to at least 30, preferably 40, before level 10 to have a chance to trigger the special event. Currently, his spirit was only 12, meaning he needed to invest nearly five levels’ worth of attribute points into spirit alone.

This would leave his basic stats very low early on, making monster fights extremely difficult.

Yet if he succeeded in triggering the event and mastering spells, this would be the fastest way to grow powerful.

As for later advancements, that would depend on his fate, but the spellcaster path would certainly become stronger with time.

This route held great risk and opportunity, and a single misstep could lead to disaster. Caution was paramount.

Route 4: Beast Tamer — Shaman/Taoist — Demon Arts Master.

Xiao Jie considered this the safest path. Since he already tended sheep and fed dogs—and soon planned to add pig feeding—he had a high chance of unlocking the Beast Tamer class at level 10. Having a pet early on would make leveling much safer.

The game placed no restrictions on weapons; he could use bow and arrow with his beast pet at range, and a blade for close combat. This offered both offense and defense, with a tank and damage dealer.

He could be formidable in monster fights and ensure his safety early on.

Between levels 10 and 19, he would trigger a special event to gain spell abilities, take on Shaman or Taoist part-time at 20, and dual specialize as a Demon Arts Master by 30.

Though the title “Demon Arts Master” sounded a bit ugly, it was on par with the Immortal Arts Master and certainly not weak.

Xiao Jie didn’t consider other classes much. There might be stronger ones, but the best fit was the best choice. Given the high difficulty, sometimes one had to adapt pragmatically.

After weighing the pros and cons of these four career paths repeatedly, Xiao Jie sighed.

The first to be eliminated was Route 3, the pure spellcaster path he most admired. The reason was simple: it was too dangerous. Without boosting basic attributes before level 10, he would be extremely fragile. Encountering a strong monster in the wild would likely mean death.

Xiao Jie was not one to rely on luck or hope to avoid strong enemies or always escape successfully. That wasn’t his style. He wasn’t the protagonist of some fantasy novel; such recklessness was suicidal.

Next, he discarded the Swordmaster path. While going to the provincial city to learn swordsmanship was safer, the journey itself was perilous. Learning swordsmanship also cost money, certainly not cheap. The uncertainties and resource consumption were too great. Moreover, the difference between swordsman and blade master was minor—mostly just a bit more flair—not worth the risk.

That left the Blade Master — Taoist — unknown dual specialization path, and the Beast Tamer — Shaman/Taoist — Demon Arts Master path.

Both required no special manipulation, just continuing as he had. Since his knife skills and dog training were essential, once he mastered dog training and wielded a blade to fight monsters, at level 10 both Beast Tamer and Blade Master classes would likely unlock. These two paths didn’t conflict before level 10.

He could try both skill sets and decide which suited him better at that point.

Besides, his plans might not unfold exactly as expected. Perhaps luck would grant him some hidden profession, something no one had heard of before.

With his strategy settled, it seemed I also had made my decision.

“Brother Suifeng, which path are you aiming for?”

“Blade Master or Beast Tamer. What about you?”

“I want to cultivate immortality.”

Xiao Jie was speechless. “The problem is, among the classes Ye Luo mentioned, there’s no immortal class. The Taoist’s various advancements barely count.”

“No, there must be an immortal class! Only by becoming an immortal can I revive my brother. This game is so open-ended; it must be possible.”

I spoke resolutely.

Xiao Jie sighed inwardly. I think you’re ignoring reality. If resurrection spells really existed, after more than three years since the game’s launch, why has no one ever seen them? If such magic existed, it would be widely known. People would pay handsomely for resurrection slots.

Besides, since death is part of the game—whether intentionally designed or not—I have a feeling the creators don’t want anyone to escape death’s punishment.

Even for immortals, resurrecting the dead isn’t so easy.

But seeing my determined expression, he said no more.

“Then let’s just go level up by fighting monsters. Becoming immortal is not something you achieve by just thinking about it.”

I nodded. “You’re right, Brother Suifeng. Let’s go level up together.”

We both looked toward the village outskirts. After the night’s crisis, we were about to step beyond the safety of the village once more.

Unknown dangers might await, but both of us were resolute, each pursuing our own goal.

It was time to fight.