Chapter 16: Pang Da Hai’s Advice

Translator: Asuka

Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys

A moment later, Pang Da Hai took the two mineral ores and uttered, “Brat, you’re pretty interesting.”

A flabbergasted Yu Xiao Tiea was standing on the side. Seeing that rather than getting angry, Pang Da Hai was grinning from ear to ear, she didn’t understand what was on his mind.

Since Lu Ye had shown enough sincerity, Pang Da Hai uttered in a straightforward manner, “A cultivator has to cultivate for life, so when you’re starting out, you’d better select a direction based on your attribute or talent. Certainly, I’m not talking about the talent that you were tested just now, but your compatibility with a particular cultivation faction.”

“A cultivation faction?” Lu Ye sensitively caught the most important point, but he was doubtful. [Isn’t he supposed to give us advice on how to select a Sect? Why is he talking about cultivation factions?]

“That’s right. I’m going to talk about cultivation factions.” Pang Da Hai nodded. “There were a lot of strange cultivation factions in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou in the past, but only a small number of them remain to this day. There are six main cultivation factions, which are body tempering, combat, spells, medicine, ghost, and the external cultivation faction which encompasses refining pills, drawing talisman papers, setting up arrays, and making weapons. Certainly, some smaller cultivation factions have survived, but they’re not commonly seen. You’ll find out about them if you happen to come across them. It can be said that ninety-nine percent of the cultivators belong to one of the six cultivation factions, and it has determined the area they have to work on. If you’ve chosen the right cultivation faction, it’ll be much easier for you to cultivate. For example, if someone is born to be strong and burly, he’ll choose the body tempering cultivation faction. If someone is excellent at spells, he’ll go down the path of spell cultivation faction. If someone doesn’t like to kill or fight with other people, he can learn to refine pills or save lives. They’re all suitable choices, so choosing the right cultivation faction is important. If someone wants to learn how to wield a sword but he’s joined Hundred Flower Valley, no one can teach him anything.”

Lu Ye and Yu Xiao Tiea nodded repeatedly as they listened to Pang Da Hai’s introduction. Even Yu Xiao Tiea had never heard of such information.

“Based on what you’ve said, different Sects place emphasis on different cultivation factions, right?” Lu Ye could somewhat grasp what Pang Da Hai was saying.

“Have I ever said that?” Pang Da Hai was shocked.

“You just said that people from Hundred Flower Valley don’t teach their disciples how to use a sword.”

“You’re quite clever.” Pang Da Hai gave him an approving look. He had never expected that Lu Ye could deduce something from what he had said. “Normally, there wouldn’t only be a single cultivation faction in a Sect. There are two to three at the very least. Some of the Sects even have four, five and even more cultivation factions. For example, the ten First-Tier Sects have all the major cultivation factions. However, there is an exception. Northern Profound Sword Sect only has one cultivation faction, which is combat cultivation faction, and they can be pretty extreme.” At the mention of the Sect, his chubby face twitched as though he had recalled some unpleasant memories.

He paused for a moment before continuing to say, “Although a Sect is made up of a few cultivation factions, they’ll still emphasise a particular one. This situation is prevalent in the lower tier Sects. That’s because they don’t have enough energy and resources to focus on so many cultivation factions at the same time. For example, we have some people from Burning Moon Mountain with us this time, and they’re focused on pill cultivation faction, which is a part of external cultivation. The pills they’ve produced are famous in Bing Zhou. People whose main attribute is Fire are in an advantageous position if they want to join Burning Moon Mountain because Fire Attribute Spiritual Power is needed to refine pills.”

He took a look at Lu Ye when he said the last sentence, so it was apparent what he was trying to say.

Upon hearing his explanation, Lu Ye asked, “Is this what you mean that we should choose a cultivation faction based on our own attribute?”

“That’s right.” Pang Da Hai nodded. “People whose main attribute is Gold are generally more aggressive, so they can go with combat, spell and body tempering cultivation factions. Wood is all about vitality, so people with this attribute can go with body tempering, medicine, spells, pills and even arrays. People whose main attribute is Water are soft and tolerant of all things in the world, so they can go with all sorts of cultivation factions. People with a fire attribute are violent, so besides medicine and ghost cultivation factions, they’re compatible with the rest. People with an Earth attribute are generally strong, so they can go with body tempering. The path you want to take not only depends on your interest but also your attributes. The mortals have a saying that the biggest mistake a man can make is going down the wrong path, and it’s true for cultivators as well. Now that everyone has gone through the test, someone will distribute some stuff to all of you. It has got something to do with whether you will stay or go, so you have to choose carefully. Before you join any Sect, you’d better find out which cultivation faction the Sect is focused on and whether it will clash with your own attribute.”

“Got it.” Lu Ye nodded with a serious expression and cupped his fists. “Thanks, Senior Brother.”

Pang Da Hai might appear to be greedy, but after taking two mineral ores from Lu Ye, he indeed gave him some useful information that the latter hadn’t heard of before. Hence, his information was worth the two mineral ores.

Then, Pang Da Hai waved his hand. “It’s just common knowledge. You’ve rarely come into contact with other people, which is why you don’t know.”

“Senior Brother, since my main attribute is Fire and my supporting attribute is Gold, which Sect should I go to?”

“Ha! You?” Pang Da Hai sized him up and grinned. “I think you’ll not be accepted by any Sect.”

Lu Ye’s expression darkened in an instant. “Then why did you tell me so much just now?”

An elated Pang Da Hai replied, “I’ve heard that there’s one guy whose talent is only one leaf, which is why I’ve come over to see a rare creature like you. Do you know that you’re the first one with a single leaf that I’ve seen over the years? Hahaha!”

All his flesh was convulsing when he laughed. Lu Ye had the urge to pounce on him and beat him to a pulp.

[Who is the bastard that exposed my talent to everyone? Bad news does spread around quickly!]

Just when Lu Ye was about to explode, Pang Da Hai suddenly stopped laughing and uttered to him in a lowered voice, “If I were you, I’d lower my expectation and not be irresolute. By doing so, you may stand a chance to have your wish granted.”

Upon finishing his words, he turned to look at Yu Xiao Tiea and said, smiling, “Young girl, do you need my advice?”

Certainly, Yu Xiao Tiea badly needed that, so she quickly asked, “Senior Brother, which Sect do you think I should join?”

“Do you love to fight and kill?” Pang Da Hai questioned.

Yu Xiao Tiea shook her head like a pellet drum as no girls liked to fight and kill.

“Go to Hundred Flower Valley, then,” Pang Da Hai uttered. “Most of them focus on medicine, so they don’t need to go to any battles. Furthermore, even if they’re captured, they’ll not be treated harshly.”

“Hundred Flower Valley…” Yu Xiao Tiea fell into her thoughts for a moment before she saluted him. “Thanks, Senior Brother.”

Her main attribute was Wood, so Hundred Flower Valley did suit her. Pang Da Hai must be aware of that, which was why he gave her this advice.

After Pang Da Hai left, Lu Ye remained in the same spot with a terrible mood.

Yu Xiao Tiea wanted to console him, but she did not know what to say, so she decided to change the topic by uttering, “Brother Lu, there’s something I don’t understand.”

“What is it?”

“Senior Brother Pang did not take your mineral ores when there were four, but why did he accept them after you took away two ores?”

Lu Ye nonchalantly explained, “To him, all four ores belonged to him, which was why he didn’t treasure them. Only after losing them would he understand that they were valuable.”

Upon hearing that, Yu Xiao Tiea fell into her thoughts as she felt that he was right.

Certainly, it had something to do with the fact the two mineral ores that Lu Ye had taken back were worthless. The valuable mineral ores were the ones that were left behind.