After learning about the capabilities of the five pathways, he realized that he might not be able to guard against the Money Pathway, but he had to pick the Mind Hunters Pathway because they target the very foundation of the other pathways. They hunt the mind, which other pathways rely on for their control.
In order not to become a slave after becoming a cultivator and fighting so hard for his freedom, the Mind Hunters Pathway is a must for him. On the other hand, the Forging Pathway will allow him to create the kinds of weapons and tools that he wants to fight with.
So the Mind Hunters Pathway will help him control the intangible, while the Forging Pathway will help him control the tangible. As for why he didn't pick more pathways, it is because he didn't need to.
Plus, he didn't want to spread his time and attention too thin. After all, a jack of all trades will easily become a master of none. But if he can master these two pathways, then he won't mind adding extra to his plate.
Of course, being able to pick two pathways is a privilege that no one else has. No one can pick two Core pathways, so he kept his choices to himself.
He also learned why Slav was so excited to get the opportunity to receive Metacs. Muni told them that Core Metacs could only be acquired by joining a sect or awakening them Innately. So one can only buy Branch Metacs outside, which is why even the rich Slav was looking forward to the selection of pathways.
After class, Muni let them go to the market to find ways to earn money. As for the hunting ground, he said that it would be open for them when they could actually hunt the beasts within it.
Now that Loki knew that the Money Pathway was an entire Branch of cultivation in the sect, he wasn't surprised by the loans, the absurd collateral, and their exorbitant interest rates anymore.
Almost everyone went to the market for the second time, but some people didn't go. Loki didn't go because he had acquired everything he needed yesterday and because he wanted to return to cultivate. But Slav of all people still went to the market, and he went with his sycophant lackies.
Loki didn't know what Slav was going to do in the market, but he was sure that it wasn't to earn money to cultivate like the others who went to the market.
When he thought about how Slav didn't need to cultivate anymore, he snorted and said, "He is probably going to the market to buy out everything they have there."
Then he went to the lodgings to cultivate. He spent one hour cultivating before resting and cultivating again just before he went to bed. So he cultivated twice and used up 32 energy stones.
His day can be said to be fruitful. He learned new, useful information and also increased his cultivation by 4%.
Not many of his mates could claim to have had a fruitful day as he did. But he was human and had insatiable wants, so he still had something to complain about.
He looked out into the darkness of the night and said, "I wish I had concentration pills to make my mind sharp and increase my mental energy. That way, I would be able to cultivate faster."
After wishing for something he didn't have, he placed his head onto his bed, closed his eyes, and went to bed.
----
He woke up the following day, which was the third day of the initiation program, to repeat the events of yesterday. He had his bath, ate his breakfast, and went to class as usual.
Muni spent one hour answering their cultivation questions. After that, there was a guest speaker who came to speak to them about the Enslavement Pathway.
The guest speaker was a lady whom Loki was able to identify as a cultivator of rank 2. She belonged to the enslavement Branch of the sect, so she had the knowledge and expertise needed to teach them about the Branch.
But she didn't spend the entire class talking. She also brought some of the beasts that she controlled and explained the use of her Metacs to them.
After class, he went home to cultivate. His cultivation session cost him 32 energy stones. This made a total of 80 energy stones that he had spent on cultivation in exchange for 10% progress towards the middle stage of rank 1.
The following day, which was the fourth day of the initiation program, it was someone from the Death Pathway who came to speak to them. He couldn't tell the sex or identity of the person because they wore a black cloak that covered their entire figure. Only their raspy androgynous voice could be heard from within the black cloak.
The death speaker brought zombies, bone servants, and even wraiths that they controlled to the class. The wraiths were the highlights of the class because they were spiritual beings that could pass through walls and were nearly immune to physical attacks.
After class, he went home to cultivate. He wanted to cultivate twice, but he could only cultivate once before he ran out of energy stones to continue cultivating.
His sixth cultivation session cost another 16 energy stones, bringing the total to 96 energy stones that he had consumed to fuel his rapid cultivation. This left 4 energy stones, which isn't enough for another cultivation session. So he decided to rewind time in order to acquire more resources for cultivation.
He made this decision as soon as he finished his sixth cultivation session. So it was still daytime, and his mind was tired when he decided to return.
No one was forcing him to reverse time this time around, which is something he appreciated immensely. He was thinking about this when his eyes opened again at the moment he just awakened the Fenrir Metac.
He smiled and said to himself, "Let's go for another round, shall we?"