Hao Qi had read his fair share of web novels about cultivators in his previous life. In those stories, there were three primary ways to attain the status of a Sage. The first, and most formidable, was to prove the Path through raw power. Pangu was the quintessential figure of this approach. It was the way of kings, ascending to Sagehood in one fell swoop with an unmatchable, majestic force. It was the strongest, most flawless, and most invincible path, the one taken by figures like Shi Zhong or the Overlord.
However, the requirements for this path were astronomically high. One had to be an absolute powerhouse, supreme in strength, spirit, and aptitude. It could be argued that such an individual would never emerge from among countless billions of beings; any who did were existence-defying anomalies born from near-zero probability. This was certainly not a path for the masses; only the most top-tier existences could ever hope to prove the Path through power alone.
Beyond that, there were two other methods: severing the Three Corpses and attaining Sagehood through great merit.
Chapter 537