The Programmer Cultivator

Zhang Deming held the books and said, "Alright, Senior Brother, I’ll see you next time."

Jiang Hongbin nodded, and Zhang Deming turned to leave.

He watched Zhang Deming’s retreating figure, his brow furrowed slightly.

He quickly opened a Light Screen and pulled up a list of all the Techniques Zhang Deming had currently checked out.

Looking at the information, he discovered that Zhang Deming already had two Tier Two Techniques registered under his name, though one of them had been gifted to him by someone else.

There was also a Technique in bold: the three large words "Spirit Nurturing Technique." In the Outer Sect, that was exceptionally jarring.

Gazing at the file before him, a slight smile touched the corners of his mouth. ’Interesting. Is he really that simple-minded?’

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Hongbin shook his head.

’Forget it. I’ll just toss this over to the Dharma Transmission Hall and let them take a look. It’s better to waste some effort than to overlook something.’

’A Spirit Root Talent of twenty-one points makes it unlikely that anything was missed in his testing.’

’But this pile of weird stuff he has... looking at it, it’s just too eye-catching. It almost feels like I’m looking at some hidden expert.’

’Hmm, since they’re going to look, they might as well check out this odd Sword Cultivator thing and this strange Yin Yang Chess Dao as well.’

’There have been quite a few strange occurrences these past few months.’

Muttering to himself, Jiang Hongbin rapidly operated the Light Screen.

He eventually filtered out several files, then with a grab of his hand, tossed them into another Light Screen—an internal department system.

The four core departments of the Sect each had their own characteristics.

The Miscellaneous Department relied on sheer size to secure its position. It was the largest department but held the lowest status among the four, filled with a huge mess of all sorts of people.

The Law Enforcement Team relied on its authority and its power to adjudicate and arrange most of the management positions within the Sect to secure its standing.

However, although the Law Enforcement Team managed positions across various departments, the important roles were managed by the departments themselves. Furthermore, departments often filled vacancies internally.

Therefore, the Law Enforcement Team ranked second to last among the four core departments of the Sect.

The Resources Department relied on resources. Money was everything, making them the true masters. Yet, they only managed to rank second among the four core departments.

The Dharma Transmission Hall was, in fact, the strongest of them all. This was because they had the most power and recruited the most geniuses.

Because of this, the Dharma Transmission Hall had always been aligned with the Sect Leader’s faction. Moreover, those old monsters—the Elders and Supreme Elders who supported the Sect—had the largest representation in the Dharma Transmission Hall.

Their representation in the hall was the largest. Thus, without a doubt, the seemingly low-key Dharma Transmission Hall was actually the strongest.

And the Scripture Pavilion was one of the most important departments under the jurisdiction of the Dharma Transmission Hall.

The Dharma Transmission Hall’s status was built upon unearthing geniuses one by one, using bits and pieces of information just like this.

Outwardly, the Sect was indeed a monolithic entity.

But internally, the competition between senior and junior brothers, between departments, and between factions was by no means small. The undercurrents of conflict had never ceased to surge.

However, because there were eyes from above keeping the bigger picture in check, this had always been maintained as a relatively healthy form of competition.

...

By the time Zhang Deming returned to Qingyou Pool on Little Hui Peak with the two Spell books, it was already evening.

He lounged by the lake for a while, enjoying the rare sight of the sunset.

After finishing dinner and cleaning up, Zhang Deming finally went into his house.

That night, Zhang Deming sat on his bed, calmed his excited heart, and opened the editing panel.

First, Zhang Deming looked at *Basic Reconnaissance: Spiritual Eye*. He hesitated for a long time between ’branch’ and the sole ’sequence’ before finally choosing ’branch’.

’There is currently only one ’sequence’, and I already have some ideas for it.’

’It would be a waste to use the precious ’sequence’ on a Reconnaissance Technique.’

He took *Basic Reconnaissance: Spiritual Eye*, touched a ’branch’, and initiated the editing process.

"Ordinary Energy: 1. Small plug-in can be edited.

Editing conditions met!

..."

The familiar message appeared. Zhang Deming entered the ’/Dantian’ command.

The control panel changed, jumping to the Dantian secondary page.

Zhang Deming: Dantian > if () {Basic Reconnaissance: Spiritual Eye cast successfully} else {Basic Reconnaissance: Spiritual Eye cast failed}.

Just like its name, this Technique was very basic. The generated code framework was also quite standard, something Zhang Deming was very familiar with. He immediately began to modify and perfect it.

’if (possess a certain amount of Spiritual Power AND cast Basic Reconnaissance: Spiritual Eye)

{then, Basic Reconnaissance: Spiritual Eye cast successfully}

else {then, Basic Reconnaissance: Spiritual Eye cast failed}.’

This wasn’t the first or second time he had completed this kind of Technique. Zhang Deming checked it over once and selected ’complete’.

The code’s Runes rapidly condensed into a ball of light. The moment it flew into his Dantian, it transformed into an eye-shaped Rune.

A flood of standard insights and Casting techniques also appeared in his mind.

Zhang Deming’s hands flashed through a series of seals, and a strange Spiritual Light shone from his eyes.

Instantly, his entire field of vision changed completely. With a thought, the wall simply vanished.

After experimenting for a moment, Zhang Deming deactivated the Spiritual Eye and took out the second Technique, *Vine: Spirit Species*.

He once again selected a ’branch’ light ball and began editing.

"Ordinary Energy: 2. Small plug-in can be edited.

Editing conditions met!

..."

’Just like the Spirit Water Technique, it consumed two light balls. It seems the base cost for editing a Tier Two Technique is two light balls.’

Zhang Deming looked at the generated code and began editing again.

’if (possess a certain amount of Spiritual Power AND cast Vine: Spirit Species)

{then, Vine: Spirit Species cast successfully}

else {then, Vine: Spirit Species cast failed}.’

He ran a check, then selected ’complete and upload’.

The Runes condensed into a ball of light, which transformed into a seed-shaped Rune as it flew into his Dantian.

But as soon as the Rune approached the other Rune Balls, it was immediately attracted by the Growth Rune Ball, which had already been modified once.

The two Runes became entangled and began to transform.

A moment later, a new Rune Ball appeared in Zhang Deming’s Dantian.

It was still a vine, but now it was a mature vine.

The vine was breathtakingly beautiful. Its entire body was a vibrant green, like jade, and its leaves were translucent. It was an exquisite sight.

At the base of the leaves, tiny seeds grew on the vine, surrounded by very small thorns.

The fluctuations from the entire Rune Ball were about fifty percent stronger than those from the Spirit Water Technique’s Rune Ball.

Sensing the complete transformation of his Growth Technique, Zhang Deming’s expression shifted, and he formed a seal with one hand.

A small, jade-like vine sprouted directly from the palm of his hand.

The biggest change the Spirit Seed Technique brought him, for now, was that he no longer needed to prepare ordinary seeds.

The Spiritual Power Vine consumed only slightly more Spiritual Power than spurring growth from an ordinary seed.

Moreover, the vine had now completely become an extension of his body. He could make a vine sprout from any part of his body if he wished.

Zhang Deming even felt that if it continued to evolve, he could, much like those with certain Bloodlines, partially transform his body into a vine, or even become a vine entirely.

In that brief moment, a massive influx of insight washed over him, benefiting him greatly. It was almost like attaining Enlightenment Dao.

After a long while, Zhang Deming finally calmed down and retracted the Technique.

After sitting quietly for a moment, Zhang Deming looked at his ’warehouse’ with a serious expression.

He only had three white Qi Fortune points left: one ’branch’, one ’sequence’, and one ’loop’.

He hadn’t touched any of the three golden Merit points yet; they were all ’branches’.

Zhang Deming took a deep breath. His consciousness touched his only Tier Five Cultivation Technique: the Turtle Water Defense Array. He initiated his first-ever ’loop’ type script edit.

"Advanced Energy: 1. Small script can be edited.

Editing conditions met!

Currently, only the Dantian Disc category is enabled. Please enter a command to jump to the Dantian category and perform plug-in editing."

He obediently entered ’/Dantian’ and arrived at the Dantian secondary page.

At that moment, the golden light ball and the Tier Five Cultivation Technique book in his ’warehouse’ vanished.

Zhang Deming: Dantian > if () {Cultivation increases} else {Cultivation does not increase}

Zhang Deming looked at the code and took a deep breath. He didn’t immediately start editing. Instead, he touched another white light ball—the only ’loop’ light ball he had.

...