The Programmer Cultivator

After dealing with Hek Tuan’s situation, Zhang Deming and the others discussed matters for a while, and then Zhang Deming returned to Little Hui Peak.

It was late at night when he got back. Zhang Deming didn’t disturb anyone at the entrance and went straight back to the Qingyou Jade Pavilion.

He had prepared for several days of roughing it in the wilderness, but due to the unexpected turn of events, he was back in a single day, rendering many of his preparations useless.

Moreover, the day’s events made him realize he had made a mistake.

His circumstances weren’t well-suited for teaming up with large groups.

Though he needed to gather enough Contribution Points within a year or two, and time was tight, he realized the best course of action was to boost his overall strength to its peak. Then, he could venture into the back mountains alone or with a single, powerful teammate.

This would afford him greater flexibility, safety, and secrecy.

As for his current combat abilities, he had the Agility Technique, the Growth Technique, the Rumors Skill, and a Spiritual Shield.

Once someone advanced using a technique from a Spirit Nurturing Bead, he would also gain the Spirit Nurturing Summoning Technique, potentially even allowing him to fight across Tiers.

With his current Spiritual Power reserves, he only lacked a sustainable close-combat technique and a high-burst damage technique.

Any more than that would be a waste of time, offering almost no improvement given his current Spiritual Power levels.

Having sorted this out, Zhang Deming mulled over a few other things before collapsing onto his bed and falling asleep.

...

Late that night, in the Array Department’s area for Outer Disciples, Xue Su—who had shared a table with Zhang Deming on several occasions—was fast asleep.

"BEEP... BEEP..."

A very faint sound emanated from the bedroom.

Xue Su’s eyes snapped open, and he immediately sprang out of bed.

Spiritual Light surged in his eyes as his hands flew through a series of seals. He actually possessed the cultivation of a Peak Apprentice; he had been using some unknown method to hide it all this time.

As he moved, the entire bedroom was instantly enveloped in Spiritual Light as layers of Arrays materialized one after another.

By the time his feet touched the floor, the entire bedroom was thoroughly sealed off by layers of Arrays—the most he was capable of.

With a grim look on his face, he rushed to a corner of the room and opened a secret compartment.

Inside, a computer had turned on by itself at some point and was now beeping softly.

The sound wasn’t loud, but to the ever-cautious Xue Su, it was unbearably shrill.

His expression darkened as he accessed the laptop. At some point, a new file had appeared.

Staring at the laptop, he muttered, ’What the hell? Didn’t I say not to send me messages rashly unless I make contact first?

Don’t they fucking know how difficult it is to stay undercover? Why do they have to be so careless?’

Muttering to himself, he opened the new file on the laptop.

The first page contained an extremely brief personal profile. When he saw who it was, Xue Su froze for a moment.

’Is this my tablemate, Zhang Deming? The one I suspected had an Inner Sect background?’

With his interest piqued, Xue Su began to read the file carefully.

But as he scrolled through it, he found the profile was even more basic than the notes he had jotted down himself.

He pursed his lips, speechless. ’The Federation’s external affairs department is so unreliable,’ he thought.

He stared at the final directive in the file and fell into deep thought.

Urgent Mission: Gather intelligence on this individual immediately. Verify if he is a lost-contact operative or an externally-recruited asset. If he belongs to another unofficial Celestial Universe sleeper cell, weigh the possibility of cooperation.

’What’s this?’

’So that guy really is from the Celestial Universe, just as I suspected?’

’That makes sense. He barely bothers to hide that unique, humorous air about him. I have no idea what kind of corporation would let a person like that go undercover.’

’So, was him befriending me a coincidence, or did he sense something and want to cooperate?’

’Interesting. Looks like after I’m done with the urgent matter at hand, I’ll need to properly sound him out. I have to at least make a show of completing the mission.’

He pondered for a long time before shutting down the computer.

He paused before putting it away, tapping the device lightly. The laptop swiftly folded into the shape of a watch and entered complete hibernation.

Only after doing all this did he place it back inside, close the secret compartment, and dismantle the Arrays around the room, finally feeling at ease.

...

「The next morning」

Just as Zhang Deming woke up, his Identity Card lit up with a notification.

Early in the morning, Zhang Deming had received a message from Feng Mingyou, telling him to meet up to deal with the materials they had brought back yesterday.

Zhang Deming wasn’t too concerned. All the materials were only worth twenty or thirty Spirit Stones, and there was no way they would sell the Cyan Jade Ghost. After all, every single one of them was desperate for Contribution Points.

Besides, both Feng Mingyou and Hua Wei had struggled at the bottom for many years. Would they really agree to sell it and take a loss?

So, Zhang Deming sent a message back, telling them to go ahead and start processing things; he would be there shortly.

He casually got out of bed, washed up, cooked a meal, and completed his daily workout routine before he felt fully awake.

After getting ready, Zhang Deming arrived at the market stalls to find that the other two had nearly finished dealing with the materials.

Of course, they weren’t selling it at a stall themselves, but had sold it to the various resellers.

This was a necessary step; otherwise, manning a stall for ten days to half a month just to sell everything would be a huge waste of effort.

Feng Mingyou looked at Zhang Deming and said, "You’re just in time. We’ve sold most of the materials. Because we had some from a Tai Chi Stage Demon Beast, we got a total of thirty-four Spirit Stones."

Zhang Deming nodded. "Then let’s split it as we agreed. Seventeen for Hek Tuan, and we’ll divide the remaining seventeen among the three of us."

Feng Mingyou said, "It’s a bit hard to divide it now. Let’s go see how many Contribution Points the Cyan Jade Ghost is worth first."

Zhang Deming nodded. The three of them went to the Outer Sect’s resource submission point. Feng Mingyou took out the Jade Box and said, "Submitting a resource. A rare advancement-type material."

The man on the other side was a middle-aged senior disciple. He glanced at the group, quickly summoned a Light Screen, and then took the Jade Box and opened it.

He examined it for a moment, then said, "A Cyan Jade Ghost. Market value is thirty-five Contribution Points; submission value is thirty. Do you confirm?"

Feng Mingyou nodded. "Yes."

The senior disciple was clearly familiar with such team submissions. He began processing it as he asked, "How do you want the Contribution Points allocated?"

Feng Mingyou first took out Hek Tuan’s Identity Card. "Put fifteen points on this card," he said. "Divide the remaining fifteen equally among these three cards."

Hearing this, the senior disciple gave the three a sympathetic look. It was obvious they’d had an accident while out gathering resources.

An allocation like this meant the team was still on friendly terms, all things considered.

After a moment, he finished the transaction and was about to hand back the Identity Cards.

Zhang Deming stepped forward and took out seven Spirit Stones. "Excuse me, could you also exchange these for Contribution Points? I should still have a conversion quota for seven Spirit Stones.

Also, I’d like to redeem an Entry Order for the Scripture Pavilion."

The senior disciple paused for a second, then nodded and quickly completed the transactions.

Both Feng Mingyou and Hua Wei glanced at Zhang Deming but didn’t say anything.

After they got their Identity Cards back and divided the remaining Spirit Stones, Hua Wei spoke up. "Well, let’s meet up again when we’re free. I’m going to go check on Hek Tuan’s condition."

The two of them were friends and long-time teammates.

Zhang Deming and Feng Mingyou nodded to him, and Hua Wei turned and left.

Zhang Deming looked at Feng Mingyou and asked, "Looks like the team you were with before has disbanded. Are you going to look for another one?"

Feng Mingyou shook his head. "I risked a lot last time and the rewards were considerable. I had already gathered almost enough resources.

But I wanted to wait a bit longer, just to be safe.

I also wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be completely broke after my advancement attempt, whether I succeeded or failed. Then you contacted me about teaming up, so I decided to join a party one more time.

But now that things have turned out this way, I’ve decided to go back, meditate for a few days, and then submit my request for advancement."

Zhang Deming was a bit stunned. ’So Feng Mingyou, who was once content to just get by, has taken it step-by-step and is now ready to attempt his breakthrough to the Tai Chi Stage?’

While most of the credit for this belonged to the savings from his twenty years of living frugally and without ambition,

a significant part was also due to the push Zhang Deming had given him.

Without that push, he likely would have had to continue that lifestyle for at least another ten years, and he might not even have been able to use a Tier Two Technique to form his Rune Core.

After a moment of reflection, Zhang Deming smiled. "In that case, let me be the first to wish you a swift and successful breakthrough!"

Feng Mingyou smiled. "I’ll take those good wishes. What about you?"

Zhang Deming chuckled. "I don’t think I’m too far behind, but I’m still short on Contribution Points and other things, so I’ll probably have to enter the back mountains a few more times.

As for the specifics... who knows!"

Hearing this, Feng Mingyou said, "Then I hope the next time we meet, it’ll be in the Inner Sect."

Zhang Deming nodded. "Let’s hope so."

What Zhang Deming didn’t mention was that even if he reached the Tai Chi Stage soon, he couldn’t immediately advance to the Inner Sect.

His Talent and background wouldn’t permit it; after all, he didn’t have twenty years of experience laying low like Feng Mingyou.

After they parted ways, Zhang Deming headed for the Scripture Pavilion.

He now had fourteen Contribution Points in total. The Entry Order had cost three, leaving him with eleven, which was enough to redeem a technique. There was no need to go to the flea market and try to get a small discount.

He didn’t want to enter the Inner Sect only to have to pay it back a hundred or a thousand times over.

Arriving at the Scripture Pavilion, Zhang Deming pondered what kind of close-combat technique to choose.

’Fist Skill? Too mainstream.

Blade Arts? That sounds pretty good.

Swordsmanship? That’s badass.

Staff Technique? A guy who masters the staff... is he destined to be single forever?’

...

’Maybe I’ll go with the sword. Become one of those legendary, outrageously powerful Sword Cultivators?’

Zhang Deming mulled it over as he browsed the techniques.

’Huh? What’s this?’

Shadow: Mastery of a Hundred Close Combat Techniques

Looking at the strange Spell, Zhang Deming opened it to the introduction.

He read for a moment, a strange look on his face. It was a mimicry technique, similar to the Little Formless Skill.

By learning this technique, he could effectively learn most Close Combat Techniques, but the result would be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

Furthermore, the prerequisite for learning it was a real pain in the ass.

It required one to study and comprehend a sufficient number of close-combat techniques just to grasp the Entry Level.

’Ha, this is interesting. You’re the one.’

’As for a burst-damage technique... hmm, I’ll pick this Jade Thorn Earth Spike Technique. It should complement the Growth Technique perfectly.’

Having selected his techniques, Zhang Deming went to the counter. The same senior disciple as before was on duty.

Zhang Deming handed over the two technique manuals and said, "I’d like to have these transcribed."

The man kept his head down as he reached for the manuals. When he felt two of them, he paused, looking up as he began to speak.

"The Entry Order only covers the transcription of one free technique. For two, you’ll need to pay an additional three Cont...ribution..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Hongbin’s eyes fell on the two manuals and he trailed off.

He stared at Shadow: Mastery of a Hundred Close Combat Techniques for a long while before looking up at Zhang Deming as if he were an idiot.

He was about to say something, but he paused when he recognized Zhang Deming. "It’s you? The kid who picked up the Spirit Nurturing Technique?"

Zhang Deming smiled. "Hello, Senior Disciple."

"I tried to warn you last time, but you wouldn’t listen. I bet you know how difficult the Spirit Nurturing Technique is now, huh?" Jiang Hongbin said.

Zhang Deming just smiled without replying.

Seeing this, Jiang Hongbin didn’t press the issue. Instead, he pointed at Shadow: Mastery of a Hundred Close Combat Techniques and said,

"I have to say, you’re getting more and more ridiculous. Do you even know what this thing is?

To learn this, you first have to master the vast majority of Close Combat Techniques, and only then can you use this to fuse all your comprehensions."

Zhang Deming nodded. "Got it."

"You don’t know squat. This thing is even more of a dead end than the Spirit Nurturing Technique.

Er, no, that’s not right.

Supposedly, this thing was created by a Spirit Nurturing Master. In order to create all sorts of Spirit Nurturing Beads, he spent a ton of effort learning a massive number of Basic Magic Techniques.

He created it to fuse and refine all the Close Combat Techniques he had already learned," Jiang Hongbin explained bluntly.

Zhang Deming really did understand now. In a Martial World, this was probably the equivalent of someone learning Fist Skill, Staff Technique, Swordsmanship, and so on, then using this to fuse them all into the Martial Arts Dao.

In other words, it was a synthesis of the Martial Arts Dao itself.

’Conversely, doesn’t that mean that if I learn this, the comprehension I gain will be incredibly rich, containing the insights from countless Close Combat Techniques?’

Seeing that Zhang Deming was unmoved, Jiang Hongbin shook his head. "Suit yourself. It’s not my Contribution Points you’re wasting, anyway.

Oh, right. There was something else I forgot to tell you."