In order to reach Sacred Fire Academy, Ethan had to pass through a forest first. The city where Sacred Wind Academy was established was called Wind Dragon City. It had once been the most prosperous city in the entire sect. Many weapons and rare materials were traded there in the past.
However, due to the war that took place two hundred years ago, the city was now completely in ruins. As a result, Wind Dragon City declined severely, which in turn led to the downfall of Sacred Wind Academy.
Phoenix Feather City and Wind Dragon City were separated by a small forest. This forest was considered completely safe. In the past, there had been some monstrous beasts living within it, but over time—because the forest was small and the number of monsters limited—they were completely exterminated by cultivators.
One could reach Phoenix Feather City by road. This route had been established long ago, back when Wind Dragon City was at its peak. It was primarily used for trade. However, after the city's decline, the route existed only in name.
Although Ethan could still use this route, it would turn into a very long journey. In the past, a bypass road had been constructed along the forest's boundary. Since it was a detour, traveling between the two cities took considerable time. Only those with high-quality carriages could traverse it quickly.
Ethan didn't have such luxury.
He had no money at all. The only currency he possessed was New Zealand dollars from Earth. He highly doubted that New Zealand currency could be exchanged for the local currency of this world.
After walking for three hours from Sacred Wind Academy, Ethan finally entered the forest. Now that he was a cultivator at the 5th Level of the Elementary Stage, even after walking nearly fifty kilometers, he felt no fatigue or exhaustion. He wasn't sweating in the slightest.
He simply followed the navigation route provided by the system. From this point onward, he still had about fifty kilometers left to reach Phoenix Feather City. It was a long journey, but he wasn't in a hurry.
After walking for another three hours, he was deep inside the forest. Without the system's navigation, he might have felt lost—but with it, he remained calm and relaxed.
Even back on Earth, he had relied on Google Maps many times. But on long journeys, without power banks or chargers, smartphones could easily run out of battery.
The system, however, ran continuously and required no power source at all.
So he wasn't worried.
After reaching deeper into the forest, the system issued a warning. If he continued traveling without rest, even as a cultivator, he might eventually cause damage to his body.
Ethan immediately decided to rest. He wasn't in a rush, after all. His goal was to become the strongest—to surpass even the heavens if possible. Even small matters with a slight chance of affecting his cultivation path were important.
That was why he chose to rest.
He found a giant tree and sat beneath it, leaning against its trunk. With nothing to do, boredom quickly set in. Back on Earth, even though he rarely interacted with others, he always had cultivation novels and PC games to keep him company.
Now, in the forest—with no smartphone and nothing to occupy his mind—he felt bored to the point of absurdity.
He sighed and opened his status panel once more.
Name: Ethan Hunt
Daoist Name: Fool
TALENT POOL:
Spiritual Roots – Warrior Grade
Physique – Major Grade
Spirit – Major Grade
Cultivation Level: 5th Level of Elementary Stage
Cultivation Techniques: None
Level: 4
EXP Points: 105/200
POINTS PANEL:
Skill Points: 0 (Credit: 90,185)
Attribute Points: 13
Golden Points: 0
System Currency: 1020
ATTRIBUTES:
HP: 150/150
QP: (Locked)
Strength: 130/130
Stamina: 125/125
Endurance: 115/115
Speed: 110/110
Agility: 107/107
Spirit: 0.9
Luck: 7
SIDE PROFESSION:
Profession Name: Doctor
Level: Beginner
EXP: 0/100
Skill Level: Beginner
Description: A Doctor is treated as a god in the world of cultivation.
Skill Set:
HOPE – When you place your hand on the patient's head, they will place their hopes on you and enter a tranquil state.
Profession Name: Teacher
Level: Beginner
Description: A teacher is someone who produces the future greats of the world. They are well respected in society.
Skill Set:
EYES OF IMMERSION – When activated and eye contact is made with disciples, there is a 5% chance to increase their concentration, boosting learning efficiency by 5%.
There were no changes to his stats since last night.
His gaze lingered on his side professions.
Without patients, the Doctor profession was useless for now.
Then he looked at Teacher.
Being a teacher required constant talking—a role that clashed heavily with his personality. Still, for the sake of cultivation, he was willing to endure it.
The real problem was… stage fright.
Shirley had never suffered from it. But as her university project partner, Ethan had been forced to present in class. Shirley always performed flawlessly. Ethan, on the other hand, always messed up due to stage fear.
He had been a terrible project partner.
Now he was expected to become a full-fledged teacher.
How could he handle that kind of pressure?
It looks like I need to practice giving lectures, Ethan thought seriously. If I don't, I'll mess up on stage and destroy my reputation.
Since he had nothing else to do and plenty of time, he decided to start practicing immediately.
With no students around, Ethan imagined the trees in the forest as disciples—and began practicing his lecture.