The system was still sending new notifications.

| Max Health Points | 100 → 200

| Health Regen | 12.1 → 24/h

| Max Stamina Points | 100 → 200

| Stamina Regen | 6.6 → 12/min

Shen's existence had reached a new level, affecting his entire being. He now knew the system had not only deferred his stats but also the gains from surviving his tribulation and reaching the Fate Origin realm.

"Better later than never," Alicia had once said, and he agreed.

He also agreed with the warning left by other cultivators at the beginning of the tutorial. He would be distraught if he had wasted AP to improve his health and stamina while cultivation gave him so much in the long run. The Immortal Emperor's warning about hidden pitfalls to the mana system also rung true now.

But speaking of cultivation...

If Shen was being honest, he felt kind of stupid. He had taken so long to realize something so simple as his being the Path of the Spear.

Shen had been trained as Keeper of Knowledge. That meant he had read a lot and automatically assumed he knew better. The books had never talked about a Path having more than one Concept as a foundation; therefore, he had assumed a Path's foundations could always be made of only one Concept.

He wasn't arrogant enough—at least not now—to assume he had done anything unique or special. Using more than one Concept as the foundation of a Path had certainly been done before. He just didn't know what it meant for him.

He looked at his body. He knew he was lighter, yet his body was packed with muscles, more than most cultivators he had seen except the ones who adored their own flesh. Was it because of the system's rank up? Or had he done something wrong while cultivating? Or was it just a reflex of his Path?

Not only was he bigger, but he also felt more anchored on reality somehow. He was lighter, but it would take much more strength to move him against his will than before. How that was possible was beyond his understanding.

But he could think about those things later. Right now, he had to get rid of the oily substance on his skin; it smelled terrible. He took off his clothes and said, "Teleport to a bath."

The third stage was about networking, so he wasn't surprised to be teleported to a public bath. The large room had a black crystal floor and white tiled walls and ceiling. There were hundreds of hot pools of different sizes surrounding a big cold one. A few dozen men were there, most relaxing, though a group of four in a corner were acting overexcited about something.

Shen mostly ignored everyone and was dismissed in turn, as public bath etiquette demanded.

Public baths were the standard in cultivator culture. Clans had too many people for everyone to be given a bathroom. An extra bath for each member meant less space for what truly mattered—martial arts and cultivation—and more work for mortals—which also meant hiring more mortals, thus more resources spent on what didn't matter.

He found a small empty pool at a corner and chose that one to clean himself. He didn't know if the substance on his body would make the water unusable or if the system would make it disappear, so he elected to potentially destroy only a small pool.

The thing felt more like a bathtub to his large frame. The hot water felt marvelous on his skin, and he was pleased to find the filth turned into light when it touched the water. Hopefully, his dirty clothes were also gone by now.

Shen glanced at his spear, which he had subconsciously brought with himself. It was also still filled with his qi. He pulled the qi back, and the wood turned into splinters, then everything became light. Only his power had been holding it whole through the process of picking his Path.

He laughed when he saw that he had been right. Indeed, he felt more naked now, without the spear, than when he had arrived in the bath.

Shen dived into the water, then laid back against the soft border of the pool. He didn't feel tired, but a bath after so long felt so right that he didn't want to leave. He had things to do, goals to achieve, but now?

Now, he wanted nothing more than to relax for a few minutes.

He considered what had just happened to him. Why had the heavens demanded he set a foundation to his Path at that moment? He didn't know because his lectures had never broached the subject. He knew a lot about the basics of cultivation and even had some theoretical knowledge of more advanced stuff, but the practical details in between eluded him.

Now that he thought about it, content on Paths was rare. He instinctively knew what Paths were because he had been born in a cultivator clan. Everyone had a Path, walked one, was one.

But what was it, really?

"A Path is one's past, present, and future; the journey and the destination; their most intimate truth and aspirations."

He had heard that definition in passing in the library while his teacher tutored a martial disciple. Yet, somehow, he noticed only now that he had never read anything that might define a Path.

The books he had read talked about foundations and complementary Concepts. The foundation was always one Concept. The complementary could be as many as the cultivator wanted, but the fewer they were, the easier it was to progress later for some reason.

The lack of information didn't bother Shen. He was surprised to realize it was missing, but some things in cultivation were like that. The elders withheld some information because some things were better experienced by oneself, else the knowledge might be tainted by someone else's experience, and that experience might not fit another. Thus one would find themselves stuck, incapable of finding their own truth and advancing.

What actually bothered him was not having anyone to consult. Why was his Path different from the little he had read about? Should he worry? Should he rejoice?

Shen had so many questions yet was so alone.

In hindsight, it was obvious his Path should be focused on himself, even if part of it was War. He was a cultivator, which already set him apart from everyone around him. Teamwork was possible, but war arrays, in which cultivators linked to each other, required everyone to control qi. He had no doubt the Alliance would have a mana equivalent, which would be incompatible with him.

But that was enough bath and introspection for now. Shen was very curious about something, and it required him to be elsewhere.

He left the hot pool and entered the cold one in the middle. He stayed there for less than a minute, then exited it and bought a new robe and G-spear.

"Teleport to my bedroom," he said. Once there, he continued, "Register Skill."

| Skill Register Process started. Showcase at least one minute of any ability you want to register.

Back in the second stage, he had been so focused on fighting, he had completely forgotten about one of the Skills that would be the most important for his future: his cultivation.

He sat on the ground, noticing his dirty clothes were gone, and started cultivating at once.

Shen absorbed qi into his core and rotated it in the correct pattern through his body. Qi filled his muscles, and he was surprised to see them get tempered much more quickly than before. Around four days ago, he had estimated he would need to cultivate six hours a day for six weeks to make up for rushing to the Fate Origin realm. Now, that time had at least halved.

Shen realized he was at a crossroads. He could finish this step of his cultivation in the third stage if he cultivated nonstop. However, he could also use that time to accumulate AP or make connections. He wanted to do it all, but he would have to pick only one.

"Mortals and cultivators share one thing above all: the preciousness of time," his father had once taught, and it seemed it was true.

He left the decision for later and focused on cultivating for now. A few minutes later, he believed he had shown the system enough and stopped.

Skill Register

Free slots: 1

Available Skills:

- Breath Control — E — 16,000 AP

- Spear Art — C- — 512,000 AP

- Cultivation Method — B- — 4,096,000 AP

He was glad to see the things he had shown before were still quoted, but the price for a B- Skill was astounding, to say the least.

If he had to guess, higher-tiered Skills were supposed to be learned by higher-ranked beings. On each rank, a person would get the best they could and use it to rank up as fast as possible. Wasting time on the same rank to get a better skill was unwise because you got more AP by killing stronger foes, and you got the power to kill such enemies by ranking up—thus growing stronger.

Shen wondered if he could buy the spear art at this stage. He might get enough if he focused solely on getting AP in the Arena. Or at least close enough that he might get the remaining AP on the next stage. However, he would have to give up on cultivating and networking to achieve that.

Speaking of which, what were his other options to spend his AP on?

"Stat Store."

Stat Store

Your AP: 59,334

-

Rank: E → D | 100,000 AP

-

Max Health Points: 200 → 201 | 201 AP

Health Regen: 24 → 24.1/h | 2,410 AP

-

Max Stamina Points: 200 → 201 | 201 AP

Stamina Regen: 12 → 12.1/min | 1,210 AP

-

Strength: E- → E | N/A

Agility: E- → E | N/A

Resistance: E- → E | N/A

He couldn't buy stats, but he could theoretically rank up in this stage, which would delay buying the spear Skill.

Choices, choices, and that wasn't even considering the classes—

Suddenly, Shen realized he might have a way to learn about Path even without any cultivator around, after all!

"How much for a class on Paths that would explain a Path with three Concepts as the foundation?"

| Advanced Path Theory: 500,000 AP

Shen immediately discarded the idea of taking that lesson. It cost almost as much as the spear Skill, and he would rather have the skill.

Speaking of which, would his spear art remain at the C- potential now that he had picked a Path based on the spear? Or could he improve his spear usage and show the system more by using his newfound insights?

Speaking of insights, was there a new learning upgrade available for purchase?

"Guardian Store," he said and was glad to see it organized in tabs now that there were more items in the store.

Guardian Store

Your AP: 59,334

[Recovery] - [Equipment] - [Weapons] - [Consumables] - [Self-Improvements]

He checked the recovery section first and found more tabs.

Guardian Store - Recovery

Your AP: 59,334

[Health] - [Stamina] - [Mana]

Still no qi. Shen wondered if the store would ever let him buy things for his qi.

He checked each of the categories.

Guardian Store - Recovery - Health

Your AP: 59,334

-

Minor Healing Potion — 200 AP

Recovers 100 health points over 10 minutes.

-

Minor Healing Crystal — 1,000 AP

Instantly heals 100 health points.

Guardian Store - Recovery - Stamina

Your AP: 59,334

-

Minor Refreshing Potion — 100 AP

Recovers 100 stamina points over 10 minutes.

-

Minor Refreshing Crystal — 500 AP

Instantly recovers 100 stamina points.

Guardian Store - Recovery - Mana

Your AP: 59,334

-

Minor Charging Potion — 100 AP

Recovers 100 mana points over 10 minutes.

-

Minor Charging Crystal — 500 AP

Instantly recovers 100 mana points.

There were no changes in those items, nor any new potion or crystal. Shen checked the equipment next, which did have new stuff available.

Guardian Store - Equipment

Your AP: 59,334

-

Any Equipment

Any equipment, from clothes to small tools, at the given tier.

G tier — 10 AP

Enchantment: Anti-Wear (G)

F- tier — 5,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

Enchantments: Anti-Wear (F-) + equipment-relevant enchantment (F-)

F tier —20,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

Enchantments: Anti-Wear + equipment-relevant enchantment (F)

The system now offered equipment at the F- and F tiers. If he recalled it correctly, each cost double the price of weapons at the same tier.

That made sense to Shen. Things that could save one's life were usually more expensive, and it was harder to create protective gear than things that focused on destroying stuff.

If anything, he found the price a bit on the cheap side, but that also made sense. The Alliance was at war against the Void, and Guardians were sent to protect everyone. The powers-that-be were probably subsidizing the prices a bit to keep as many Guardians alive as possible.

He checked the weapons next.

Guardian Store - Weapons

Your AP: 59,334

-

Any Weapon

Any portable weapon at the given tier.

G tier — 10 AP

Enchantment: Anti-Wear (G)

F- tier — 2,500 AP

Requirement: F rank

Enchantments: Anti-Wear (F-) + weapon-relevant enchantment (F-)

F tier — 10,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

Enchantments: Anti-Wear (F) + weapon-relevant enchantment (F)

F+ tier — 50,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

Enchantments: Anti-Wear (F+) + weapon-relevant enchantment (F+)

Any Weapon (E-) — 20,000 AP

Requirement: E rank

Enchantments: Anti-Wear (E-) + 2 weapon-relevant enchantments (E-)

There were two new options, the F+ and E- weapons. Shen frowned at the prices, as an F+ weapon cost more than double what an E- did.

He thought for a while and reached three possibilities.

One, some people got stuck in a rank for all of their lives. They were more likely to invest in the best weapon for their rank. The cost naturally increased to reflect that.

Two, from what he knew about smithing—admittedly very little—making the most out of inferior materials, thus forging a weapon at the "plus" tier, was harder than doing a bad job with superior materials, thus creating a weapon at the "minus" tier. It might be harder to make an F+ weapon than an E-.

Three, the Alliance might be subsidizing those prices too. They might want Guardians to get access to improved weapons as soon as they ranked up to better fight the Void. An extra enchantment every rank certainly made more difference than making the enchantments better, which happened on each step between the "minus" and "plus" tier weapons.

There was still a lot of difference between those steps, of course. He had felt it between the F- and F spears. But he wondered how big of a difference an extra enchantment would make in a fight.

Shen was tempted to invest in an E- spear but postponed the decision until he had a clear picture of all his options.

Next, he checked the consumables, which were further divided into two tabs, rank and stats. He checked the rank category first.

Guardian Store - Consumables - Rank

Your AP: 59,334

-

Rank Up Pill

Ranks you up for half the price of the Stat Store, but you'll never be able to rank up again.

G → F — 500 AP

F → E — 5,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

There was an extra pill now, to the E rank. Shen reckoned some people might actually buy it this stage or the next, especially if they found themselves in a tough spot.

From what he had seen, the E rank was equivalent to cultivators at the early stages of the Fate Origin realm. People could certainly do worse for themselves than spend their lives at that rank.

Guardian Store - Consumables - Stats

Your AP: 59,334

-

Stat Up Pill

Improves a stat for half the price of the Stat Store, but you'll never be able to improve that stat again.

G → F- — 500 AP

Requirement: F rank

F- → F — 1,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

F → F+ — 2,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

F+ → E- — 4,000 AP

Requirement: E rank

=

=

There were new pills there too, which Shen thought the same of as the rank-up pills.

Only the self-improvement section remained, which was divided into standard and special.

He checked the standard section first.

Guardian Store - Self-Improvement - Standard

Your AP: 59,334

-

Magic Nanobots Injection — 2,000 AP

Requirement: F rank

Nanobots that can be infused into your body to let you feel and manipulate mana. Unlocks the magic stat. Unlocks magic-related skills.

Incompatible with qi.

The nanobots were still there despite his body becoming permanently incompatible with mana after the Core-Origin Tribulation. He guessed he could also give it to followers or even sell it.

Together with his considerations about the pills, that meant it was possible to convert AP into whatever currency the Alliance used. Only the opposite was impossible—though he wondered if there weren't workarounds for that too.

His guess about buying things for others was proven correct when he checked the final category of the last section.

Guardian Store - Self-Improvement - Special

Your AP: 59,334

Special items cannot be given to others.

-

Learning Ability Upgrade (E) — 500,000 AP

Requirement: E rank

Further improves your learning capabilities.

The upgrade he had been looking for cost about the same as the spear art Skill and the advanced path theory class. Even if he had already discarded the latter, the prices revealed that things that mattered would get very expensive from now on.

Evidently, he had to focus on AP more than on his cultivation or networking in this stage. He hadn't gotten anywhere close to amassing that much AP in the previous stages and didn't know if he would have another chance to get that much AP later. Though each stage seemed to be more lucrative than the former, he wouldn't bet his future on that.

He wasn't sure whether he would pick the Skill or the learning upgrade, but he didn't need to decide now.

Now, he would get the AP he wanted.

"Buy G-tier spear and teleport to the AP Arena," he requested.