He didn’t mention his guess to Jim, though. He continued to listen as Jim rambled on about the importance of merit points.
Jim’s eyes were glowing as he said, "If I had a lot of merit points, not only would I be able to pay off my awakening debt in this life, but I could also use them to pay for reincarnation insurance, so that when I die, the sect will send someone to find me once I’m reborn and reach a certain age."
"That person will bring me to the sect and make sure that I awaken and become a cultivator. Then the sect will give me back all of my contribution points from my last life. So even though I won’t have any memories of my last life, I won’t have to waste time in ignorance and will be able to rejoin the sect and continue my journey to the top."
These words made Loki exclaim, saying, "Wow. No wonder you want merit points so much."
But Jim snorted and said, "That’s not the main reason why I want merit points. The main reason I want merit points is to buy ranks. And before you ask me what ranks are like, some ignorant idiot, I’ll tell you now."
Then he asked Loki, saying, "You know what Core Metacs are, right?"
Loki nodded in reply.
So Jim nodded in satisfaction and said, "Good. Then you should know that there is a Supreme Metac at the apex of a pathway that the Core Metac points to. We have five pathways in the Four Directions Sect, which means that we have control of the Supreme Metacs of the five pathways."
"The key to cultivating a pathway is to possess the Core Metac. While it is difficult to get the Core Metac of a pathway outside the sect, it is possible."
"Some people find the Core Metac randomly in nature, and some even awaken it due to their high potential. So anyone can cultivate any pathway regardless of their background or sect."
Loki nodded in understanding as he had seen someone in the Four Directions Sect awaken and use the Core Metac of the Sword Way sect.
Jim saw that Loki understood what he was saying, so he continued, saying, "However, while anyone can cultivate a pathway, only those who have been recognized by the sect in control of the Supreme Metac of the pathway can gain the acknowledgement of the Supreme Metac and gain an increase to their power called Status."
He pointed at the sky and said, "Take, for instance, that the Supreme Metac is high up there at the limit of the sky."
Then he pointed to the ground beneath them and said, "Then take that you and I are on the ground at the bottom of the world."
"The Core Metac creates a connection between the Supreme Metac. This connection is the pathway. It is like a rope connected to the great Dao that we can use to climb up."
"If the Supreme Metac acknowledges you, the rope will pull you up, so that you will become closer to the Supreme Metac. This is called a rise in status, and it will increase the power of your Core Metac beyond what upgrading the rank of the Core Metac can."
"Right now, you’re at the bottom of the connection. So you have a level 1 status. If your status rises to level 2, your power will double."
"Currently, your power output is Cultivation Rank × (Stats + Metac) × Skill. But it is actually Status × Cultivation Rank × (Stats + Metac) × Skill. You don’t notice the effect of status because it is just level 1. But you will notice its effect when your status rises to level 2, level 3, level 4, and so on."
Loki’s eyes lit up in understanding as he said, "So a level 2 status will double my power and a level 3 status will triple it and so on and so forth."
Jim nodded and said in agreement, "Exactly."
Then he asked Loki, "Status is a good thing, right?"
Loki nodded in reply, which prompted Jim to say, "Unfortunately, we can’t have it because we don’t have merit points. It is only true merit points that the sect will raise our status. So only sect disciples can have an increase in their status. This is why I want to pay off my debts so early."
"No matter how hard I work on my cultivation, I will still be left behind and bullied by those with a higher status in the sect. Even if I advance to rank 3, I’m sure that a rank 2 cultivator with a level 2 status will be able to beat me up."
This made Loki say, "Someone who passed the initiation program with me used the Sword Heart as his Core Metac. Does that mean that he will always be weaker than the sword cultivators of the Sword Way sect and the true disciples of our sect?"
Jim shook his head as he said, "No. The way that sects acknowledge people and raise their status is different for every sect. For the Four Directions Sect, you need to be an inner sect disciple, and you need to have sufficient merit points. But that’s not the case for the Sword Way Sect."
"In the Sword Way Sect, what they need to raise their status are Karmic points. They use good and bad karma to gain the acknowledgement of the Supreme Metac of the Sword Pathway and are not restricted by background or identity."
"As long as someone with the Sword Heart Metac does a lot of good or does a lot of bad things, the Supreme Metac will acknowledge them and raise their status regardless of where they are in the Blessed Heaven World."
His lips curled into a mocking smile as he said, "As far as I know, there is no sect in control of the Dual Cultivation Pathway. Which means for that girl with the Beautiful Woman Metac, her lineage is dead."