Paragon

The Beginning of a Long Journey

   It was easy to use logic and decide which type of strengthening Yishang Tian should undergo first.

    Mental cultivation was out of the picture, as his mind transferred from a God who focused on it and it was already at the previously perceived pinnacle, and although there was still room to improve, it would be slow and inefficient to work on that before anything else.

   Soul cultivation was likewise excluded, as the benefits wouldn't show themselves that quickly. There was no doubt that within the long run, a stronger soul would result in a tremendous advantage, but short-term, it wasn't perhaps the strongest choice.

   The benefits and drawbacks of cultivating the Yuan contrasted against those of cultivating the soul, which would help him long-term instead of short-term. On the other hand, if he cultivated Yuan, it would greatly aid him short-term and put him far ahead of other children but would result in slower and harder progression in the later stages of his cultivation. This was because cultivating any type of energy before the body was prepared for it resulted in a shoddy foundation, something that could greatly limit his prospects in the future.

   Which led Yishang Tian to the cultivation of his body. This would prepare him a steady and near perfect, if not already perfect, foundation. His soul was not as important to his foundation as his body was, which was another reason Yishang Tian was able to set aside strengthening his soul so quickly. This plan was not without risks, however. Although his body was objectively the best choice, having the strength and speed of a child far beyond his age and experience would draw more attention to his life, which had already drawn enough eyes.

   So at first glance, they were all rather bad choices. But Yishang Tian would have to choose one. The question was which.

   A perfect foundation was a crucial step in wanting to become a God. Having an unstable one would be crippling for an ordinary God, let alone a person who wanted to surpass the very existence of Gods. Yuan was definitively out, along with the mind, for obvious reasons. It was between the soul and the body. As someone who was killed thanks to the innate greed and hunger of life-forms, Yishang Tian knew all too well the living heart. So, if he chose to go through with body cultivation and was discovered, the 'secret' on his body might, in the eyes of some, be worth his life. He could, with next to no difficulty, control and conceal his speed and strength somewhat effectively, but defensively, he was an open book. There was no way that, with his current power level, he could conceal the toughness of his skin. And although the body would create the perfect foundation, cultivating Yishang Tian's soul before his body would have absolutely no effect on his body or foundation. To top it all off, Yishang Tian did not have any goal to work towards to besides wanting to surpass Gods. And in the end, that was all it was, a want. There was not even a time limit on this want. So, following this train of thought, not only was the foundation point of body cultivation nullified, which was a pro in the favor of body cultivation, but the con of little to no benefits in the short term was also nullified for soul cultivation, at least at that time. So, the choice was obvious.

   Yishang Tian would cultivate his soul.