"Only five years?"
"Only? I'll give you a review made of eggs!" (TN: A pun on 'egg' and 'zero/nothing' in Chinese).
What kind of normal game takes five years to load?
Qi Ping was fuming. But seeing the familiar game, his anger was quickly replaced by overwhelming joy.
"I didn't expect this game to cross over with me..."
This was a niche, modded game Qi Ping had randomly downloaded in his previous life. He had found the skill settings fascinating and had spent half a year grinding through almost every profession. He knew them inside out.
"With these twelve templates, my situation in the cultivation world is about to get a lot better!"
Even if these professions couldn't quite match the heights of true cultivation, they were infinitely better than his current low-grade talent. Besides, there was a saying: once you can cross-class skills, balance ceases to exist!
As long as he chose the right profession and mastered the skills, he could surely make a name for himself. There were no useless professions, only useless players!
"The key is choosing the most suitable one. It needs to work in a cultivation setting and fit my current circumstances..."
Qi Ping fell into deep thought. This was a one-time choice; if he messed it up, there would be no second chances.
"I'll start by eliminating the obviously unsuitable ones..."
He decided to use the process of elimination.
"First, I can rule out Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, and Monk."
The Bard was a support class focused on inspiration, illusions, and charms. He didn't have anyone powerful around him—what was he going to do, buff Old Man Zhou?
The Barbarian was just a rage-filled brute that lowered one's intelligence. In the cultivation world, he'd be nothing more than a minor mob. Only someone with a hole in their head would choose that.
The Cleric's skills were mostly healing and support, similar to the Bard, so that was out.
The Monk was essentially an Eastern martial artist. While great for a wuxia world, their utility in a xianxia world of high-level spells and artifacts was limited.
"That leaves eight. Next..."
He thought for a moment.
"I can rule out Fighter, Paladin, Rogue, and Ranger."
The Fighter, like the Monk, was a front-line tank and grinder, better suited for a lower-fantasy setting. The Rogue was a thief specializing in stealth and backstabbing, which didn't fit his current life. The Ranger was much the same—not very useful for his needs.
The Paladin was interesting, as their power came from faith in the Light. In a cultivation world, there might be some room for maneuver—like involving Buddhist faith or Confucian Righteous Qi—but ultimately, it was still a martial-leaning class.
"Now there are four left: Sorcerer, Druid, Wizard, and Warlock. All of these could be incredibly potent here..."
A Sorcerer's power came from their bloodline. The cultivation world was full of powerful beasts—dragons, qilin, gluttons. If a Sorcerer could bathe in those bloodlines, their power would be terrifying.
A Druid's power came from a connection to nature. They could cast nature spells, shapeshift, tame beasts, and farm. They were naturally attuned to the world, giving them the broadest career path in this environment.
Wizards, the masters of spellcasting, were undeniably powerful. At their peak, they could even create divine realms.
A Warlock's spells leaned toward the occult and eerie curses, which also had great potential, especially for those in demonic sects.
"All four are strong, but they must also fit me."
If he were in a demonic sect, Warlock would be the hands-down choice. But Qi Ping ruled it out immediately; his personality wasn't suited for the cutthroat world of the demonic path. He was too afraid of dying.
"A Sorcerer needs to bathe in the blood of powerful beasts. Right now, I have no way to get that. In the short term, it offers me no help..."
He couldn't exactly expect Old Man Zhou, a Layer 4 cultivator, to go out and hunt high-tier spirit beasts for him. And he was broke; ten years of savings might not even buy one vial of rare blood.
"A Wizard is amazing. If I had great talent and were in a major sect, I could eventually reach a world-shaking level... Meteor swarms, spatial magic, time magic... combined with cultivation, the effect would be explosive."
"But Wizards are glass cannons, especially early on. It's too easy to get killed. Starting from the absolute bottom, the difficulty would be hellish."
Finally, his gaze settled on the Druid.
This was the class that had tempted him from the start, but he had forced himself to compare all of them first to avoid future regrets.
"Druids have beast taming, farming, shapeshifting, and spellcasting. Beast taming and farming can help me immediately..."
Druids could communicate with animals and form animal companion contracts. Right now, it would allow him to talk to his bees and find out why they were restless.
Beast taming could also boost his combat power quickly. Taming a nest of Tiger-Headed Bees would be enough to threaten a mid-layer Qi Refinement cultivator. Low-intelligence creatures were easier for Druids to contract, and their combat utility was excellent.
The farming aspect would allow him to grow flowers and spirit herbs—the value of which needed no explanation in this world.
"Furthermore, Druids are naturally attuned to the world. That should give me an edge in comprehending the Dao... especially since this body has mediocre talent and even worse comprehension..."
Qi Ping felt a pang of sadness. Not only was his spirit root the lowest grade, but his comprehension was also garbage! It had taken him two years just to reach the basic entry level of the most common Wood-system technique, the [Wood Shield Art]. Old Man Zhou had nearly died of anger, wondering if Qi Ping's head was made of wood.
This was another reason to skip the Wizard path. With his comprehension, choosing Wizard would be synonymous with suicide.
"So, Druid it is! Beast taming and farming won't lead me wrong..."
And it would solve the hive crisis right away.
With his mind made up, Qi Ping no longer hesitated.
"Select the Druid profession!"
[Druid profession selected...]
[Profession template generating...]