Chapter 218 - Choosing His Path

"You don't know?" Niu Hai smiled and looped his arm around Jing Yi's shoulder. "Eh, how about you join us then? I could help you further if you like."

Jing Yi tensed. He hadn't told Niu Hai that he was already engaged since he thought he might get more information if he didn't but now he regretted it a little. This Senior Martial Brother was obviously a little too fond of him. "Mn, I'm afraid that —"

"Don't worry!" Niu Hai pulled him closer. "I know it can seem a lot at the beginning but you'll find out soon that it isn't that bad after you've joined. You see, we from the division of the blades are a close-knit team. We'd always help our Junior Martial Brothers and since the two of us know each other already … There is nothing for you to worry about Jing He." He lifted his hand and caressed Jing Yi's cheek.

Jing Yi trembled. He was assaulted by the same feeling of dread he had felt back then when Qiu Ling came close to him for the first time. He didn't want this! He took a step back to escape out of that embrace and lowered his gaze. "I'm afraid I'm not that suited to being a part of the blade division."

"Ah, you don't have to think that we're all swinging dadaos around the whole day. You could also try using butterfly swords. I think that would suit you very well." Niu Hai smiled and tentatively reached out again.

Jing Yi frowned slightly. He really didn't feel good about this but he couldn't just walk away now. Maybe he should tell him about Qiu Ling after all? But his fiance wasn't there at the moment and Niu Hai wouldn't have any problem to subdue a cultivator of the first stage. He couldn't make him angry. "I still think I'm not too suited for that. What else is there? The Hei Dian Sect is so big. There will certainly be a lot of divisions."

"Mn." Niu Hai wasn't really thrilled to talk about that. He'd rather entice this cute Junior Martial Brother to join them but he didn't want to be too obvious either. "Well, there's the division using pole-arms and what we call the light one. They're using ropes and whips and such things."

"It seems like the Hei Dian Sect has a lot of practitioners then." Those were all things a cultivator would only learn as a support for his cultivation techniques after all. Could it be that the Hei Dian Sect was one of those that specialized in the ways of the practitioners? But that couldn't be true. There had been no information regarding that in the jade slip! And furthermore, how would they have become the foremost sect of the demonic faction if they completely ignored cultivators? Wouldn't they be limited that way?

"Ah, no, naturally, there are divisions for the different spirit veins, too. I'm not a cultivator, though."

Jing Yi nearly sighed in relief. "Well, I am a cultivator so I should probably go there."

Niu Hai's face fell. There was next to no possibility to get someone with spirit veins to give up on cultivating to become a practitioner. He should better try and find another reason to see him often. "Then … what kind of spirit veins do you have?"

There was an awkward pause while Jing Yi turned away from him. "Full spirit veins."

Niu Hai stared in surprise. This cute Junior Martial Brother … only had full spirit veins? "Eh, Jing He, then why don't you reconsider? Cultivating with full spirit veins won't yield much of a result. It might still be better for you if you become a practitioner."

Jing Yi pressed his lips together. He also knew that cultivating with his aptitude was futile. People with full spirit veins seldom got farther than the root stage. This adventure of cultivating that he had finally started after five years … it would probably come to an end soon.

He sighed. Well, he was now in a demonic sect. He couldn't cultivate their techniques anyway so it would be better to secretly cultivate with the manual Grandmaster Zhangsun gave him while doing something else as a diversion.

Jing Yi paused. A diversion? That wasn't even necessary. He might not be able to cultivate here but there were things that could still be done even while staying a righteous person. "Senior Martial Brother Niu, say … does the Hei Dian Sect teach alchemy?"

"Alchemy?" Niu Hai nodded. "Sure. Do you want to learn that?" His expression said that he himself didn't think much of alchemy.

Jing Yi smiled. "Yes. I'd like to. In fact, I've already thought about that a while back." Indeed, when he had seen Qiu Ling trapped in his inner self he had thought that it might be good if he could do something for him. He had neither the spirit veins to become a great cultivator nor the body to achieve remarkable feats as a practitioner. But alchemy didn't rely on either of them. With just enough work he could accomplish something as an alchemist. And even more importantly, he might be able to be of help to Qiu Ling.

"Well, there's indeed a division for that. If you want to, I can bring you over right now."

Jing Yi nodded and bowed. "Thank you very much, Senior Martial Brother." He gifted him a smile and followed him back to another large estate on the hillside.

Actually, he really anticipated becoming an alchemist. This path would enable him to do at least a bit for Qiu Ling. He imagined how he would care for him should Qiu Ling ever be injured and how his efforts would manage to lessen the pain of his fiance. Wouldn't that be the best thing he could do?

Unfortunately, he had no idea that it was next to impossible for a human to injure a dragon. Well, it was probably better to say that even after a year of traveling together and promising himself to him he still didn't know that his so-called fiance wasn't even human. Maybe he would never find out.