As the realization came upon him, he became depressed. And that's when Han-Bi, for fun, decided to hammer the last nail of his coffin: " So, you see, you need money but it's not easy to make some? Now that you understood that you will need many resources and how hard it is to get them, do you get why it would be stupid to make a bigger core than necessary? Especially considering that, in the end, it's pointless "

He agreed with her. Money would be a pain to get and he would need lots. It turned out that cultivation was a pay-to-win. He sucked at those... While he understood it would be hard, he didn't quite get why she said it would be pointless. So, he grounded his teeth, put aside his pride, and asked further: " But if you could get resources, wouldn't it be worth it? "

Han-Bi sighed as she said: " Once you start on the accumulation, you have to constantly build up your core, making it bigger. The amount of spiritual energy required vastly increases every stage. Now let's say you built a core twice as big as ours, ok? You would need twice the amount of spiritual energy. Simple math, right? Now, it might not seem much in early stages but what about late ones?"

"It's been said that you might need the same amount at the 20th stage as someone at the 30th+ stage. And honestly, do you think you would be able to beat someone with ten more stages than you? A bigger core means a tougher core and more energy. True. So, at a same stage, you have a better output and it's easier to dominate. But. Every stage, and you will feel it as you progress, there is a qualitative change not only to your body but your energy too. If you focus on quantity and give up quality...You will just end up being trashed by everyone later on. That's why it's pointless."

"You might be stronger in the early stages and the very short first few years of your life but after that? You will be a loser. Just so you know, creating a bigger core becomes detrimental beyond the fifth stage of accumulation. Considering that you're already an inner disciple, they have hopes that you will go higher. We do too and you probably hope so as well. If you make a bigger core, give that up. Hell, they would likely ban you from the sect if they learn of it."

So it was that dumb to try for a bigger core. Now he finally understood everything. Resources were harder to get as he thought. They wouldn't just fell into his hands. He would constantly need them and a lot. Even if he could secure enough early on, it was impossible later on. At least it became so hard that it was common knowledge that the path was a dead-end.

Cultivators were practical. They did what was best to them. The goal of a cultivator was to cultivate to the peak, not being the strongest at the bottom. As such, they would never make a bigger core. It would only be detrimental as it would slow them on their path towards the higher stages. Jin was now aware of this. So of course, he scrapped the idea of a bigger core.

From here on out, he would absorb energy and climb through the stages. His goal was the peak as well. If there was something that would hinder him, he would rather have it. A bigger core seemed like a good thing at first. Instead, it was an anchor to the lower stages.

He thanked his two friends for their explanation. What they did wasn't much and didn't seem like much but it saved Jin's future. And he was aware of that. So he was thankful. If he could help them somehow one day, he would probably do so. For the first time since starting in this world, he truly felt like he found people he wanted to walk alongside with.

As he was very seriously considering their friendship, the two of them had found a new interesting topic: " So, little brother Jin, what kind of secondary occupation would you be interested in? "

Jin wasn't very interested in anything unrelated to battles but he had been made to understand the importance of raking in the dough in the cultivation world. If he wanted to climb higher, he would need money and so, a secondary occupation seemed to be a must.

Since teaching was out of question at the moment, he had no idea. In the end, he told them: " I don't know, what do you guys think? " and Sang-Min was the first to answer, though with a joke: " How about being a jester? You're silly enough " but only he laughed at his own joke.

Ignoring him, Han-Bi asked: " What is it that you like, little brother Jin?" and she was answered right away with a single word: " Fighting " Han-Bi was a little troubled. It wasn't like there were no ways to make money through fighting but it wasn't the best in the long-term. After all, as you reached a certain realm, finding people to fight with you became harder as the dangers of death went up...She didn't want to see this cute kid die early on.

She told him: " How about something related to fighting then? Blacksmithing maybe? "

Blacksmithing was the art of making weapons and armors through forging. It was indeed attractive to Jin. Not only that he had some knowledge about it, he believed it to be a great way to train oneself. It required one to be exposed to heat and forced one to work hard through it. It wasn't a bad option. But Sang-Min just had to crush that idea: " It's difficult to find customers at first and you need a certain investment to start up though. After all, you must have materials and rent a forge. Then practice. And only soul weapons are really selling here. Who would buy random weapons after all ?"

Fuck blacksmithing then.