My eyes lit up at these words. Who would object to being too powerful?
"But right now, besides cultivating the Shepherd God Art normally, I don't seem to have any other methods..." I said quickly, then looked towards the Shepherd.
"I knew you were up to no good, you brat..." The Shepherd sighed, then took out a small round disk.
The disk was not large, seemingly made of some kind of bronze. It was densely inscribed with a large amount of text. Even with my eyesight, I couldn't make out what it said.
Overall, it looked like a Bagua diagram, though with some differences.
"Don't worry about not being able to see it clearly now," the Shepherd said. "Later, when your disciples cultivate to a certain level, let them use this thing..."
"How do I use this?" I asked.
"Just inject Shepherd God power into it," the Shepherd sighed. "Back in the prime of cultivators' lives, almost everyone had one of these. Now that it's in your hands, it looks like some kind of treasure..."
I chuckled sheepishly, not offering much explanation.
"This thing has only one purpose: to determine your body's attributes," the Shepherd said. "As I mentioned before, cultivation is about absorbing the power of heaven and earth to strengthen oneself. In the eyes of cultivators, this power is generally divided into several types..."
"Water, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Thunder," the Shepherd said. "If a cultivator has a higher affinity for any one of these attributes, they can wield the power of that attribute..."
I nodded seriously, not interrupting him.
"What you're using now is just Shepherd God power, which initially was used to strengthen the body. After mastering attribute powers, you will become even more powerful," the Shepherd said. "However, physical strength remains the most crucial part!"
"Thank you, senior, I understand!" I said. "But how do we use these attribute powers?"
"First, you identify it, then you activate it, and finally, you use it," the Shepherd said. "I can't say for sure what the current world is like, but some things are certain. Identification is self-explanatory. As for activation, it requires items of the same attribute..."
Though I was a bit confused, I could grasp the general meaning.
"Also, since you've decided to teach disciples, teach them well!" the Shepherd said, standing up and walking towards the waterfall.
I still wanted to ask something, but suddenly the waterfall seemed to come alive. It transformed into a giant water dragon in mid-air and charged towards me.
I quickly retreated, but it was clear I couldn't dodge the attack.
The colossal water dragon struck my body, and in the next instant, the surrounding scenery began to recede rapidly.
The waterfall, the pool, the plants and trees...
They grew smaller and smaller in my sight, eventually becoming mere points of light.
I found myself back in darkness, just as I had been upon arrival. Everything was slowly returning to its origin.
As I was wondering, everything around me turned completely black.
When I could see clearly again, I found myself lying on my bed.
The sky had brightened.
The conversation hadn't taken long, yet an entire night had passed.
Just as I was contemplating whether it had been a dream, my hand suddenly touched something.
It was a small compass.
"This..." Seeing this, I didn't know what to say. Since I could use attribute powers, I wondered what my attribute was...
With that thought, I picked up the compass and injected Shepherd God power into it.
As this power flowed into the compass, I saw the black and white Tai Chi diagram begin to spin wildly.
The image even became blurred. At one moment, the black and white Tai Chi diagram slowly reduced its speed, and then, five phantom images appeared on the compass.
"Five phantom images?" I frowned. As I was pondering, I suddenly saw four of the phantom images slowly dissipate, leaving only the one in the center.
"Fire!" As my gaze fell upon it, I clearly felt the text it represented.
"Fire?" My eyes lit up.
After all, to wield a certain attribute power, one had to use an item of the same attribute as a medium for activation.
Putting other things aside, fire wasn't particularly difficult to come by in this society.
"It's decided then!" I said with a smile, then stood up and walked out. I had intended to find a flame to activate it with, but just as my hand was about to touch the flame, a thought suddenly occurred to me...