The Programmer Cultivator

To be honest, Zhang Deming was reluctant to send Li Shifan. The guy had a pure heart—or in other words, he was an idealist.

It was fine for now, but once he saw the suffering of those mortals with his own eyes... he'd likely get swept up in a fit of righteous fury, ready to roam the world with his sword as a knight-errant.

But no matter how worried he was, when it came to a choice between his "sheep" and saving an entire city of people, Zhang Deming couldn't possibly choose to protect his sheep. This had nothing to do with personal gain; it was about basic human decency...

"Don't worry, Senior Brother. I know how to weigh my priorities. I'm a Sword Immortal now, after all. 'Take the enemy's head from a thousand li away, and if one strike fails, retreat a thousand li'—the old ancestor drills that basic professional conduct into my head every single day."

"He even puts me through 'training' whenever he feels like it... He's practically conditioned me to bolt at the slightest hint of trouble. So trust me, I know how to handle myself," Li Shifan grumbled.

Just then, a Scroll materialized on his arm, and a voice echoed from it. "You little brat! This old ancestor is still listening!"

"Hehe..." Li Shifan didn't dare talk back. He just scratched the back of his head and broke into a goofy grin.

Zhang Deming rolled his eyes, exasperated. He looked at the Scroll and said, "Senior Li Cheng, you should spend less time teaching him about maintaining a persona. He's been acting so much it's almost become second nature. It's not good to be such a drama queen!"

"I think it's great. If he can genuinely fool me, his path in the future will be a little smoother, a little broader." Li Cheng's voice emanated from Li Shifan's body.

Li Shifan, still grinning foolishly, froze mid-scratch. 'Since when am I maintaining a persona...? I just didn't want to argue with the old ancestor, that's all... The old ancestor and Senior Brother don't love me anymore!'

Zhang Deming shook his head. "Forget it, I'm not going to argue. Senior, please keep a close eye on him. Knowing his temperament, I suspect he really will let his passion get the better of him."

"I'll watch him," Li Cheng replied, taking the warning very seriously. After all, even though they hadn't witnessed any specific atrocities on their journey, just seeing the smoke and fires rising everywhere had caused Li Shifan's emotions to fluctuate wildly.

"Alright then, it's settled," Zhang Deming said, finalizing the plan.

Soon after, Li Shifan departed with a team, leaving only Zhang Deming and the other two on the plaza.

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"Martial Uncle, are we moving out now?" Qin Shizhong asked.

Zhang Deming shook his head. "Not yet. There's still someone we need to deal with."

At that, Zhang Deming walked over to the Martial Artist Array. With a wave of his hand, he pulled out the leader, the Grandmaster-level Martial Artist.

With a mere thought from his Heart Spirit, all the plants on the man's head retracted.

"You have one chance to beg for a quick death," Zhang Deming said, looking at the man.

The lead Martial Artist had endured half a day of excruciating torture. He had vividly felt himself being slowly devoured by all manner of plants, their roots squirming and draining him from the inside. The sheer, instinctual terror had stripped him of any will to resist.

In fact, the only reason he hadn't had a complete mental breakdown was due to the vines' healing. Forget resisting—at this point, a single glance from Zhang Deming could make him piss his pants in fear.

Hearing this, the leader immediately said, "Upper Immortal, please speak!"

Zhang Deming warned, "Don't try to pull any fast ones on me. And considering you weren't even carrying a Fire-Folding, you can't be anyone important. You're in no position to be playing games."

The leader's eyes widened at the mention of the Fire-Folding, and he nodded frantically. "I understand, I understand!"

"Do you know what your superiors have planned?" Zhang Deming asked.

"I don't know the specifics. I'm only in charge of Jing City. The territories our Duan Family is responsible for are mostly surrounding cities and remote Prefectures. The main force is managed by the Lu Family; they handle the cities where Tai Chi or Duality Sects or families are located," the leader answered immediately.

'Lu Family? Duan Family?'

The scene of the five passages leading to the Celestial Heart Altar's true Main Body in the Underground City flashed through Zhang Deming's mind. His expression shifted as he asked, "Are there five families?"

The leader looked stunned for a moment before shaking his head. "No, there are only two. The Lu Family is the main line, and our Duan Family assists them."

Zhang Deming frowned. After a moment of contemplation, he continued, "Then why do you rob Cultivators? And what's the reason for this slaughter today?"

The leader hesitated. Seeing the look in Zhang Deming's eyes, he shivered and the words came tumbling out. "We rob Cultivators because the Cultivation Technique we practice is the North Nether Firewood Skill. We can... we can use Immortals... to nurture our Martial Arts Dao."

The leader's voice grew increasingly apprehensive. He finished speaking and stared nervously at Zhang Deming, his legs trembling violently. If Zhang Deming were to make any sudden move, the man looked ready to wet himself.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Deming recalled the altar. His expression flickered. "The Devouring Dao? You cultivate your martial arts by consuming people?"

Bracing himself, the leader nodded.

Zhang Deming's gaze turned icy. "My promise of a quick death... it seems I was too hasty. You had better not give me an excuse to go back on my word."

The leader flinched under Zhang Deming's glacial stare and hurriedly continued, "As for today's slaughter, I truly don't know the reason."

"I belong to a slaughter squad. Fifty years ago, as soon as I was old enough to understand, the clan threw me into the Heart Cultivation Pool. Those who failed to meet the standard were buried in it forever..."

"The Heart Cultivation Pool?" Qin Shizhong couldn't help but interject from the side. "You call slaughtering people indiscriminately 'cultivating the heart'?"

The leader nodded immediately. "Yes. Everyone in the clan's slaughter division, starting from the age of eight, must undergo this 'heart cultivation.' You either learn to take pleasure in killing and devouring others, or you die in the pool. There's no family, no father or son—only preying on others to survive."

"Hah! What fine mortals! What fine Martial Artists! What a fine race, cultivating their hearts by extinguishing their own humanity!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shizhong's entire body went rigid. Wang Qian looked at the older man but said nothing. Zhang Deming's expression was chilling, his eyes dark and bottomless.

"After that trial, I was assigned to Panzhou to begin preparing for the day of Jing City's calamity." The leader paused, then added, "That is to say, today."

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