For the first time, he heard of the path of professions.
Led by the attendant, after receiving the Featherdew, he followed the attendant to the priest.
A female eaglekin clad in robes approached him.
She began to explain.
"You have become a Transcendent, so I will now explain the path of advancement to you."
"The key to advancement lies in determining your own path of profession!"
"Only by determining your path of profession can you have the possibility of advancement. A powerful path of profession can even lead to becoming a Legend!"
Hearing this, Mike's heart stirred.
"May I ask, Priestess, where can we eaglekin take up a profession?"
"Take up a profession?"
The female eaglekin priestess frowned.
"The path of a profession has only two routes: self-creation or bloodline inheritance. What do you mean by 'taking up a profession'?"
Mike was confused and instinctively asked,
"If we can't take up a profession, how can we advance to Legend?"
The priestess gave him a speechless look and mocked,
"Hmph, Legend? You really dare to dream. On the continent of Ferland, how precious are the paths of profession that can advance to Legend? Currently, only the royal family's 'Sky Warrior' profession possesses a complete path to Legend."
"As for self-created paths of profession, being newly conceived, they require years of effort and continuous refinement before they can even have the potential to become powerful professions."
"Therefore, every powerful path of profession exists only through bloodline inheritance!"
As she spoke, she looked at Mike and found it increasingly amusing.
"Without ancestors to inherit a bloodline, you must create your own profession!"
Hearing this, Mike remained unmoved by her mockery.
But inwardly, he was shocked. In the future era, profession points would be widespread across the world, and every intelligent being with the aptitude would have the opportunity to choose a complete path to Legend.
Or perhaps, professions without a complete path to Legend would not survive.
Who could have accomplished such a feat? It was truly astonishing!
Only a true deity could achieve such a monumental task!
And now, to think that a path of profession capable of advancing to Legend was so precious!
One generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade.
The people of the future were truly fortunate!
Little did he know, he too would become one of those who planted the trees.
For now, he could only ask,
"Priestess, please tell me, how do I create a profession!"
"Consume a transcendent substance to awaken your spiritual vision. The Featherdew counts as one."
"Then, through meditation, touch the Sea of Spirit and construct your transcendent profession based on your own ideas!"
"Remember, the profession you construct must align with your physique, attributes, mind, and will!"
"Do not aim too high or be unrealistic, or your path of profession will be doomed from the start!"
"The path of creation is not simple. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"If you understand, then leave!"
Exiting the priestess's tent, Mike left the royal camp and returned to where his clan was stationed.
Although the war was won, they could not leave immediately.
As he left the royal camp, the royal eaglekin warrior told him that if he could not bear to leave his tribe, he could return first.
For they seemed confident that Mike would eventually return to the royal court.
Not just him—the entire eaglekin royal court seemed equally confident!
He was also told that in three days, there would be a grand celebration hosted by the various races for the Thunder Titan Atri, which everyone must attend.
At that time, all would be required to praise the great Thunder Titan!
After reuniting with his clansmen, they returned to the camp where the tribal eaglekin had initially been stationed.
Only then did Mike realize that less than one in ten of the tribal eaglekin in the camp had survived. Every survivor was filled with tears, moving like lifeless corpses.
This war had drained the blood of the tribal eaglekin of the Great Wasteland!
Yet the royal court remained aloof, and no one dared to resist.
At this point, Mike asked his clansmen about their experiences.
According to Ryan's explanation, after Mike had lured away the two-headed wyvern, they were temporarily conscripted by a group of royal eaglekin warriors and placed in the front lines as cannon fodder to face the griffin hordes of the dragon faction.
Over a dozen clansmen had died quickly, but thanks to their bronze armor and the war ending after the Titan tore apart the Blue Dragon King, no greater harm was done!
"The royal eaglekin warriors always stay at the rear, commanding the tribal eaglekin to fight. That's why the royal court suffers the least casualties in every war!"
"That's why less than one in ten tribal eaglekin survive!"
After hearing this, Mike's anger toward the eaglekin royal court grew even stronger!
He decided then and there that once they returned, he would ignore the royal court's orders.
As for the location of the Gaoman Mountain tribe, once they found a better place, they would leave.
After all, in a year's time,
when the ultimate battle between the Titans and the dragons erupted, whether the eaglekin royal court would even survive was questionable.
On the third day,
Mike and his clansmen sat quietly in their camp, waiting for the arrival of the Titan.
At high noon, when the sun was at its fiercest,
the earth-shaking footsteps of the Titan grew closer!
A Titan over two hundred meters tall strode step by step into the center of the multiracial camp!
His body was wreathed in world-destroying lightning, and a massive dragon's head served as his helmet, still reeking of dragon blood.
Atri stood tall, as if towering above the clouds!
He glanced down at the tiny, ant-like intelligent creatures beneath him, his eyes filled with indifference and boredom.
If not for the Titan King's words that these insignificant beings held the secret to godhood, he would not have cared for their lives.
He boomed,
"My servants, cheer for your master!"
"The great Titans shall rule all of Ferland!"
Like thunder shaking the heavens, his majestic voice reverberated across the land, his overwhelming might sweeping through the entire Vastsea Forest!
Every creature trembled under this pressure, their bodies collapsing!
Such was the might of the Titans!
Every Titan began at Legendary rank!
And Titans like Atri were already Demigods!
Unable to resist the pressure, Mike fell to one knee.
But having absorbed the blood of Titans and dragons, he regained his composure in an instant. Raising his head, he gazed at the Titan, who stood like a king of the world, towering above the clouds, and felt a surge of defiance and fervor!
"I can replace him!"
After the Titan's grand celebration,
the races of Ferland dispersed, and the eaglekin royal court returned to the Celestial Mountain, ordering the tribes to disband.
Mike lingered until the end, secretly taking the little turtle and the Cyan Stone with him.
This place would surely become a battlefield of carnage in the future, and he had no intention of returning.
Afterward, Mike led his clansmen back to Gaoman Mountain.
Though over a dozen had died, it was still better than the total annihilation his father's generation had suffered.
A few days later,
the group returned to the Gaoman Mountain tribe.
Seeing their clansmen return, most eaglekin wept with joy, while those who had lost husbands, brothers, or sons wailed in grief.
Mike, too, was deeply sorrowful.
He had promised to bring everyone back, yet over a dozen had perished.
At the same time, the eaglekin were astonished by Mike's transformed appearance and his power as a Transcendent.
Several elders wept with joy, for they understood what a Transcendent meant in this ancient era.
That night, the tribe feasted and celebrated.
With most of the young warriors returned, the tribe stabilized.
The next day,
inside the village's wooden hut,
Mike placed the Cyan Stone under his bed, crafted a small nest for the little turtle, and introduced it to the tribe.
The intelligent little turtle, like a newborn child, was full of curiosity about the world.
Small and adorable, and possessing the power of lightning, it quickly won the affection of the entire Gaoman Mountain tribe, especially the children.
The Eagle Mother doted on it, treating it as family.
In the following days,
Mike led the young hunters out daily, and with his transcendent abilities, they returned with abundant prey.
After securing enough food reserves, he decided to seclude himself to cultivate and create his own path of profession!
Instructing the eaglekin not to disturb him, Mike returned to his hut to begin his seclusion.
He placed the Cyan Stone, glowing with Kacey's light, beneath him and sat upon it.
This miraculous stone had allowed him to awaken his transcendent powers by absorbing Titan blood—it was undoubtedly a priceless treasure!
The greatest gain from the Titan-Dragon War was this stone.
With it, perhaps creating his profession would be smoother.
He consumed the Featherdew and began meditating to touch the Sea of Spirit.
The Featherdew, said to be a unique transcendent substance from the Celestial Mountain, quickly induced a meditative state in Mike.
In this state, he could see spiritual particles of various colors around him, but the purple ones were the most abundant and the most attuned to him.