An's room was just behind the tavern, a typical minimalist setup—aside from the bed and desk with chair, everything else was work-related materials.

Oh, and also two large wooden magic staffs, each standing about 1.8 meters tall.

If it weren’t for the runes carved on them, Chen Qi would’ve thought they were giant hammers meant to bash in his skull.

The two of them found a spot and sat down.

“Your Inspiration is pretty high. That means you have a better natural aptitude for certain Transcendent professions.”

As An spoke, she pulled out a form.

“But before we get into that, I need to fill out your personal information.”

“Alright.”

Chen Qi sat patiently.

Then An started asking questions like a job interviewer:

“Name?”

“Qi.”

“Gender?”

“Male…”

Was that really that hard to tell? Chen Qi paused for a moment, puzzled.

An suddenly realized something and quickly explained:

“Uh… I’m not questioning your gender, or your appearance, and I’m definitely not trying to check your gender…

Back in the imperial capital, I saw plenty of burly women, and also delicate, cute men. Of course, I’m not referring to you specifically… it’s just hard to describe…”

She got stuck again, unsure how to explain her thoughts to Chen Qi.

“Put simply, you shouldn’t assume someone’s gender. I get it.”

Chen Qi summed it up for her.

In the Transcendent world, none of this was strange. Sometimes, you couldn’t even assume the other party’s species.

“Yes, yes, exactly! That’s a great way to put it… Ahem, how did we get off-topic again…”

An coughed twice. Even though she was quite powerful as a Transcendent, talking to strangers still made her a bit nervous.

After finishing the basic questions, she quickly got back on track:

“Qi, based on my observation, your Inspiration is very high.

That means you’re a great fit for the ‘Principle of the Book’ and could become a Mage Apprentice.

Here in the Goldenfinch Kingdom, the government also has a few unassigned Apprentice profession cards.

Normally, those cards are reserved for highly capable Spiritually Awakened individuals.

But since your Inspiration is so high, according to regulations, you can get an Apprentice profession card early.

To receive one early, all you need to do is complete the tasks assigned to you by the government.

Of course, you’ll be paid in full for those assignments.”

An early profession card! And full pay for the missions!

This was basically a secret benefit reserved for Spiritually Awakened people with exceptional talent.

If word got out, others would be insanely jealous.

Most people had to wait at least six months to get a Transcendent profession card from the Goldenfinch Kingdom’s authorities.

That’s why she chose a private room to discuss it.

An quietly waited, anticipating a stunned reaction from Chen Qi.

But unexpectedly, he didn’t show much surprise—instead, he looked deep in thought.

Another trash profession… Chen Qi thought to himself.

Apprentice. A Tier 1 Book-type profession card. Slightly boosts memory, enhances understanding of arcane knowledge. No additional skills.

With a high-quality magic staff and extraordinary Inspiration, a Tier 1 Apprentice might be able to cast a few weak spells.

It’s a profession that’s quite weak in the early stages.

But undeniably, as a stepping stone toward becoming a powerful mage, Apprentice had great future potential.

Still, just like the Physician Apprentice, this profession required a huge investment of time and a massive amount of knowledge accumulation early on.

An had been groomed by Transcendents since she was young and had built a strong academic foundation, which allowed her to become a powerful mage and novice instructor at a young age.

Chen Qi, on the other hand, was different. If he chose the Apprentice path, it meant enrolling in school and spending a lot of time studying.

And this world was facing the threat of destruction.

By the time he graduated and emerged ready, the world might already be gone.

This won’t do… Chen Qi looked up at An.

Why the hesitation? Was I not clear enough? An continued explaining:

“Don’t worry. There are no extra fees for receiving an early profession card.

In fact, if you perform well, you’ll even receive extra training resources.

If you can reach Tier 2 within six months, we’ll give you a custom-made magic staff.

If you can reach Tier 3 within three years, you’ll qualify to study abroad in our neighboring country—the White Tower Federation—where the Book-aligned professions are even more developed, and you can learn deeper arcane arts!”

An used the prospect of the future to paint a vivid path ahead for Chen Qi.

Chen Qi gave a helpless smile.

All gifts come with a price.

If he accepted the profession card from the Goldenfinch Kingdom, it meant he’d officially become a part of their system.

From then on, he’d walk the path arranged by the authorities.

If he didn’t have a Deep Sea affinity, or wasn’t aware that the New Sun World was headed toward doom, this might’ve actually been a decent choice.

A relatively stable path.

I need to come up with a way to refuse… Chen Qi thought.

Luckily, there was a good reason to refuse right now.

It involved a key part of the Transcendent profession system in the New Sun World:

The Principle of Uniqueness.

The New Sun’s Transcendent system was quite complex. It had thirteen types of attributes, and each profession card could have one, two, or even three of them.

So, within its framework, there were a huge variety of Transcendent professions.

Book-aligned Apprentice, Lamp-Book-aligned Wayfarer Mage, Flower-Cup-aligned Herbalist, Blade-aligned Recruit, Blade-Flower-aligned Forest Hunter, and so on.

These weren’t simple linear promotions—every promotion level offered multiple paths.

But when it came to promotions, starting from Tier 2, every Transcendent had to follow the rule known as the “Principle of Uniqueness.”

The Principle of Uniqueness meant that from Tier 2 onward, all professions must align with one core attribute you’ve chosen.

For example, a Tier 1 Physician Apprentice didn’t have to promote into a Tier 2 Physician. They could evolve into something else entirely.

A Cup-aligned Physician Apprentice could become a Tier 2 Glutton, and then a Tier 3 Cup-Book-aligned Fleshcraft Augmentation Mage.

Although that career path had completely deviated from “medicine” and sounded strange…

Because each profession included the “Cup” attribute, it was still a valid Transcendent path.

That made “Cup” their Principle of Uniqueness.

Of course, considering how skills across professions synergized, most people wouldn’t choose such paths.

As a former gamer, Chen Qi hadn’t cared much about these settings.

But now, he had to take them seriously.

Among Transcendents in the New Sun World, there was an ancient metaphor:

Before walking the Transcendent path, each individual must place their heart at the start of the Spirit Tree Sea.

Then, tie it with a string—and only then could they continue forward.

The Principle of Uniqueness was that heartstring. Stray from it, and you’ll lose your way.

Chen Qi gathered his thoughts and declined politely:

“Miss An, I lack the proper academic foundation. I don’t think I’m suited to commit to the Principle of the Book…”

An’s eyes widened slightly. She hadn’t expected Chen Qi to refuse such a luxurious opportunity.

You can’t just let talent go to waste because of that… She tried again:

“You’re a Spiritually Awakened individual. You haven’t even reached Tier 2. You’ve got infinite potential. There’s no need to decide your Principle so early.

Apprentice, as a Tier 1 profession, is highly compatible with many mage paths.

Your Inspiration is very high. That means you’re a natural-born mage.

As for foundational knowledge, you’re still young—you can totally learn. If you run into trouble, I can tutor you myself…”

I’ve made up my mind. Stop trying to persuade me! Chen Qi coughed twice:

“I’ll think about it some more…

Oh right, Miss An, aside from Apprentice, are there any other Transcendent professions I can consider?

Or… any intel on profession card Cracks?”

This was a rare chance… An gave a helpless smile, shook her head, and pulled out a notebook:

“There is. Recently, quite a few fishermen have run into Cracks.”