The Programmer Cultivator

Zhang Deming said, "Okay. I’ll let you know when I need you."

After dealing with these matters, the better part of the day had passed.

Zhang Deming glanced at the sky. ’I should be able to get everything done today.’

He quickly left the street stall and headed to the resource submission office at the Outer Sect Headquarters.

Zhang Deming first pulled out the bottle of Advanced Apprentice-level Qiu Ape Bloodline and placed it on the counter.

The attendant at the resource recovery counter saw it was a Blood Marrow Bottle and placed it directly into an inspection port to the side.

At that moment, Zhang Deming spoke up, "That’s a Qiu Ape Bloodline from an Advanced Apprentice."

The man paused. "You’re submitting something worth one or two Spirit Stones here?"

"Do you not know the rules, or are you asking me to run a special inspection?"

Zhang Deming smiled. "A special inspection!"

The man paused again. "Do you know what special abilities this Bloodline has?"

Zhang Deming smiled once more. "Gravity Aura and Wishing Size."

Behind the counter, the shadowy figure sat up straight, his features becoming clear.

He was a middle-aged man. Holding the Blood Marrow Bottle, he gave Zhang Deming a serious, scrutinizing look before getting up and moving to a special inspection port behind him.

The light from the inspection port’s Array flickered for a long time before projecting a Light Curtain.

Category: Demon Beast Bloodline

Beast Name: Qiu Ape

Species Type: Simian

Rank: Apprentice

Bloodline Abilities: Gravity Aura, Wishing Size (faint)

He looked at the Light Curtain and said, "It is indeed gravity-type, and a simian Bloodline at that—one of the most compatible with gravity."

"It’s a shame. If it were from the Tai Chi Stage, it could have definitely served as a high-grade main material for a promotion."

Zhang Deming chuckled. "You’re joking, sir. If it were really from the Tai Chi Stage, do you think I’d still be standing here?"

Ma Songhai looked at Zhang Deming and said, "Although this Bloodline is an excellent fit for Promotion Formulas within the Transformation System, especially for those that use a simian form to construct the Rune Core...

"...this is only an Advanced Apprentice Bloodline, so its quality takes a hit, making it unsuitable as a main material."

"Furthermore, it comes from the Qiu Ape, a species known to negatively impact intelligence, which makes things significantly more difficult for practitioners of the Transformation System, who already struggle with cognitive side effects."

"Therefore, the resource assessment values it as a mid-grade supplementary material, worth thirty-seven Contribution Points."

"If you’re not satisfied with that, you can opt to sell it for Spirit Stones instead."

"I have plenty of contacts; I’m sure I could get you a price you’d be happy with."

Zhang Deming shook his head. "No thank you, sir. I’m in greater need of Contribution Points."

Ma Songhai nodded. "Alright then. Give me your Identity Card."

Zhang Deming smiled. "Not so fast."

Then, Zhang Deming reached into his bag, pulled out two sealed, dried fruits, and handed them over.

Ma Songhai’s nose twitched. He took the fruits, opened one to take a sniff, and exclaimed in astonishment, "Blood Emotion Wine?"

Zhang Deming smiled and nodded. "A sharp eye, sir."

"You intend to trade this for Contribution Points?" The man ignored Zhang Deming’s compliment, his expression one of surprise—or more accurately, utter astonishment.

’If it weren’t for the fact that this was the Resources Department’s exchange counter, a place with a zero-tolerance policy on fraud...’

’...Zhang Deming suspected the man might pretend to process the exchange, only to secretly swap the wine from these two fruits with something else for himself.’

Zhang Deming froze for a second. ’Could my information be wrong?’

’Isn’t this Blood Emotion Wine just an ordinary, non-essential supplementary material for promotion?’

Zhang Deming paused before voicing his confusion. "Isn’t this a generic, add-on supplementary material for promotions? There shouldn’t be an issue, right?"

Seeing Zhang Deming’s expression, Ma Songhai shook his head and pushed the Blood Emotion Wine back toward him.

"This stuff... although it is a promotion supplement, because of... *that* other reason..."

Ma Songhai gave Zhang Deming a knowing, man-to-man smile and continued, "Plus, it’s completely harmless when it... stimulates certain things."

"In certain circles, it sells for... well... far more than its actual worth."

"In the Sect, it’s true that Contribution Points are more valuable than Spirit Stones, but the premium usually maxes out at a two-to-one ratio."

"The only reason Contribution Points are so tight is because the Sect restricts their circulation in the Outer Sect for management purposes."

"But with this Blood Emotion Wine, the Sect’s buy-back rate is only two Contribution Points per tael. While trading what you have would still be a decent sum..."

"...if you find the right market, heh, you have no idea what prices this stuff can fetch."

"You have to understand, a single Monkey Fox is easy to find, but a whole troop of them is difficult. A troop that actually produces this wine? Finding one of those is pure luck. Even many Spirit Wine masters can’t manage that."

’Ah, so that’s how it is.’

’In other words, this Blood Emotion Wine has the potential to be a luxury good. After all, the Cultivation Realm isn’t entirely without its pleasures.’

’Furthermore, those in the Apprentice Stage must preserve their Primordial Yang. This means the target clientele for this wine would be Tai Chi Cultivators at the very least.’

’Combine that with decades of celibacy during the Apprentice Stage, and Zhang Deming could well imagine just how sought-after such a luxury item would be.’

Zhang Deming nodded and put the Blood Emotion Wine away.

Ma Songhai was taken aback. "Don’t you need contacts? This kind of thing requires special channels to sell for a good price."

"The price you get depends more on the quality of your connections, since at best, this barely qualifies as a pseudo One-Star Spirit Wine."

Zhang Deming paused at his words. ’Ah, so that’s his angle...’

’I was wondering why he was being so kind, sharing all this information. This is what he was waiting for.’

Zhang Deming smiled faintly. Instead of refusing, he said politely, "In that case, could I trouble you, sir, to help me sell about a pound or so, just to see?"

Ma Songhai paused, not pressing the issue. It didn’t matter whether Zhang Deming was using half a pound of Blood Emotion Wine to test his connections or was simply making a polite gesture.

The message was clear: Zhang Deming didn’t want to sell all of it right away, but he also didn’t want to make an enemy of him.

Ma Songhai smiled and nodded. "You can rest assured. I guarantee I’ll connect you with a buyer you’ll be satisfied with."

Zhang Deming nodded, handed over his Identity Card, and said, "While you’re at it, please redeem a Command Token for the Scripture Pavilion for me."

Ma Songhai nodded and quickly processed the transaction.

Zhang Deming checked his Contribution Point balance: forty-two points.

’I had a balance of eight Contribution Points before, so with the new thirty-seven, it should have been forty-five. Three points were deducted for the token.’

’The Blood Emotion Wine is still pending. I still need to gather enough Contribution Points for the one promotion material I’m missing, the Soul-Nourishing Fruit. So... should I just sell the Tai Chi Mother Ape Bloodline?’

’No, Li Shifan has a share in that. We already agreed not to rush selling it, since neither of us wants to attract unwanted attention.’

’Looks like I won’t be able to keep that half-portion of Wandering Soul Mist after all.’

Zhang Deming took his items and turned to leave, his mind already racing.

He arrived at the Scripture Pavilion. After entering, he saw it was the same senior brother as before at the desk.

’Of all the reception areas Zhang Deming had been to, this one seemed to have the lowest staff turnover. Being a Tower Guardian... is it a good choice for an early retirement?’

Zhang Deming glanced at Jiang Hongbin. The man was just as he always was. Since Zhang Deming wasn’t a first-timer, he didn’t require any guidance from him.

He didn’t even raise his head for people who came in, paying them no mind whatsoever.

Zhang Deming turned and went straight to the staircase leading to the second floor, where a Light Curtain immediately blocked his path.

Zhang Deming took out his Identity Card and gently pressed it against the Light Curtain.

Thirty Contribution Points were instantly deducted from his Identity Card.

This meant that the base price for a Technique on the second floor started at thirty-three points.

Of course, that was just the starting price. If one chose a more expensive one, they would have to pay the difference upon recording it. Thus, within the Sect, a Tier Two Technique started at thirty-three Contribution Points.

The Light Curtain traced a path from the Identity Card, extending a bubble that enveloped Zhang Deming.

Curious, Zhang Deming reached out and poked it. It felt quite soft.

Then, encased in the bubble, Zhang Deming passed directly through the Light Curtain.

The moment it made contact, the bubble merged into the Light Curtain, and Zhang Deming found himself in the stairwell.

Looking back, he saw that the Light Curtain was one-way. From the inside, it was completely transparent, but from the outside, nothing could be seen at all.

’I have to admit,’ he thought, ’the art of Arrays in the Hongmeng Realm has truly flourished to its absolute peak.’

Shaking his head to clear away the stray thoughts, Zhang Deming headed straight for the second floor.

The layout was completely different from the first floor; the second floor had no partitioned sections.

While there was still a distinction between books and Jade Scrolls, the room was simply split into two halves: bookshelves on the left and racks for Jade Scrolls on the right.

There was no partition between them, only a sign to mark the division.