"It feels good... finally, my first class advancement."
Looking at the level-up notification, Qi Ping's joy was written all over his face.
Nothing made him happier than this.
No matter how chaotic the world was outside, it didn't affect the happiness he felt while staying low and grinding experience to level up.
(TN: Druid level has reached level 5. Opening first class advancement...)
(TN: Please choose an advancement: Beast King Druid or Jungle Druid.)
"I choose Jungle Druid!"
At level five, the advancement choice was a 1-of-2 between Jungle Druid and Beast King Druid.
Qi Ping had been unable to decide which one was better for a long time, as both were excellent.
The Beast King path had advancements that moved him deeply, but the Jungle path was not inferior.
However, the moment he obtained the Star-Spirit Wood seed, he had an epiphany—the Shepherd of Trees advancement!
This profession was most suitable for him to develop secretly in the mountains, allowing him to best evade the terrifying cultivators who had lived for thousands of years.
Compared to the Shepherd of Trees, while the skills of the Beast King were powerful, they didn't match his current predicament. What he needed most was a secure and private environment, which the Beast King path could not provide.
Furthermore, the core talent of the Beast King path lay in the Animal Companion talent, which allowed Qi Ping to share their talents and solve his own shortcomings.
As long as that condition was met, the subsequent advancements primarily focused on making the animal companions stronger. For Qi Ping himself, the benefits weren't as significant as a secure environment and safe production capacity.
(TN: Class advancement choice complete... Jungle Druid advancing.)
(TN: Please choose a specialized profession: Tree-Sea Sage, Life-Binding Covenantor, Plant Controller, Shepherd of Trees, or Fallen One.)
"I choose Shepherd of Trees!" Qi Ping made his choice without the slightest hesitation.
The decision to choose the Shepherd of Trees was finalized the moment he got that seed.
The role of a 'production machine' was exactly what Qi Ping needed right now.
Just its ability to efficiently create spirit lands alone could solve the spirit land problem he couldn't ignore.
And that was only one small aspect of the profession's capabilities. This class had massive potential for growth in the cultivation world.
As for the other professions, they were good, but Qi Ping felt they fell short compared to the Shepherd of Trees.
Take the Fallen One, for example. Its core talent was the Fallen Heart. One could gain experience and power by destroying forests and trees. It was the fastest leveling profession among the five.
The cultivation world certainly didn't lack ancient forests, so his strength would increase incredibly quickly.
However, while it looked beautiful on the surface, it was full of traps.
For one, the ceiling for the Fallen One was the lowest of the five.
Moreover, the spiritual forests of the cultivation world were mostly controlled by great powers or Demon Kings. A short-term burst of destruction might not matter, but if he kept it up, he would inevitably draw the hostility and pursuit of mighty cultivators.
Even if Qi Ping did it carefully and erased all traces, there was always a 'what if.' One small mistake could lead to eternal damnation and the destruction of his path.
If he ended up provoking cultivators capable of divining karma and heaven's secrets, he would be hunted down and killed even if he hid at the edge of the world.
So, as long as there was no immediate life-or-death crisis, Qi Ping would never choose that profession.
To be able to develop steadily on his own and avoid karma was the most appropriate choice. Qi Ping sought the immortality and invincibility of the immortal path, not a moment of glory followed by death.
Similarly, the Life-Binding Covenantor had very prominent advantages, but it still lacked compared to the Shepherd of Trees.
The most notable feature of the Life-Binding Covenantor was its survivability.
Its core talent, Life-Binding Covenant, allowed Qi Ping to form a life-bond with a tree.
Once the covenant was complete, even if Qi Ping died, as long as the bound tree lived, he could be resurrected!
As his level increased, the number of bound trees would grow, giving him terrifying survival capabilities! It was the strongest survival profession among the five.
However, this profession also had weaknesses that were hard to ignore in the cultivation world.
One was the problem of finding spiritual seeds that Qi Ping was currently facing. How could he find suitable spiritual seeds and trees?
As Qi Ping grew stronger, the bound tree had to be powerful enough to resurrect him completely. And once a spiritual tree became powerful, how could he ensure it wasn't discovered?
That was a difficult problem to evade.
Most importantly, this profession lacked production capacity, which was the fundamental reason Qi Ping decided to give it up.
Regarding survivability, Qi Ping currently had the combination of Wild Shape and Natural Perception, which was already sufficient. Summing it all up, the Shepherd of Trees was more suitable for him.
As for the Plant Controller and Tree-Sea Sage, they were similar to the others—each had their strengths, but overall, the Shepherd of Trees fit him best.
(TN: Specialized profession choice complete... Shepherd of Trees chosen. Profession talents generating...)
(TN: Profession talent Tree-Spirit Contract has been generated.)
(TN: Natural Affinity talent has evolved into Natural Heart.)
(TN: Tree-Spirit Contract: As a Shepherd of Trees, you can form contracts with trees and engrave a Tree-Spirit Imprint upon them. The number of contracted trees is related to your mental strength; the stronger your mental strength, the more trees you can contract.)
(TN: Natural Heart: You possess an extremely high affinity for plant-based energies.)
The Tree-Spirit Contract was the core talent of the Shepherd of Trees.
If Qi Ping wanted to cultivate various spiritual trees with special production or combat abilities, he had to rely on this talent.
He had already thought about how to use this talent many times, so he had no doubts.
"But this Natural Heart..."
Upon obtaining the Natural Heart talent, Qi Ping suddenly closed his eyes. He began to draw upon the energy within his spirit herbs, experiencing it with his heart...
After a good while, Qi Ping opened his eyes again. When he did, they were filled with shock and joy!
"This is... the Five Elements!"