Data-Driven Daoist

“Phytoplanktons,” Yu Han said. “You got jars full of phytoplanktons. And you wanna put them in your body.”

They spoke a tonal language here. It was hard for them to pronounce English.

“Are you sure?” the cat asked.

Huang Niuniu nodded.

“Are you sure?” the cat asked again.

Huang Niuniu nodded again—

“I wish for an elaboration,” the cat said.

“I,” Huang Niuniu said. “Think. I don’t want to say. Whatever happens, happens. Yes, trust Han’er.”

“That’s dumb,” Yu Han groaned.

“You’re dumb. Your whole family is dumb.”

“Niu’er, don’t bet your future on my ramblings.” Yu Han didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Huang Niuniu shot back. “Besides, this might help me with the Trial. It… it’s about water Gu. The ones that are wisps. Many, many of them. A river of them.”

“You can’t unawaken a bloodline art,” Mistress Miao said. “To risk permanent mediocrity and penalty for a body tempering realm trial isn’t worth it. Are you still sure?”

Huang Niuniu nodded.

“If you’re sure,” the cat slinked off to the stair steps. “This is fun.”

“Why,” Huang Niuniu asked.

“Most don’t experiment.”

Fang Zhao set up the array papers. When the marrow wine started simmering, he put a beetle and a spirit stone in.

“Let me do it!” Huang Niuniu said.

“Put the Gu in at the end,” the cat said. “So fun.”

Time passed. She dropped one wisp after another. Like Gu, their definition was wide. Anything that glowed. In other words, displayed bioluminescence. From an electric eel to a palm-sized firefly. A mochi-esque whatever to a poision-dripping frog.

Finally, Huang Niuniu opened one of the jars and poured the contents into the cauldron.

She stopped halfway rather than pouring all of it in. After looking inside the jar, she reached in and stirred.

The next time she poured, the water was glowing faintly. Mostly blue, with hints of green and violet. A stream of mossy liquid with inlaid stars.

For the rest of the jars, she first stirred and then poured the contents.

When the last one emptied, she glared at the men, including Fei Rui. Mistress Miao agreed to stay on guard.

“Fun. Curious,” the cat said. She lounged on a stairstep, her two tails swaying as if there was wind. Her wings were pressed tightly against her body. “Will she turn into a puddle? Mutate? Three noses and seven breasts?”

“I won’t!” Huang Niuniu yelled.

The men walked up the stairs. It was already late evening.

Yu Han (Johan) | Lvl.2 | Accords: 1

Qi:

[True: 300/300]

[Pure: 149/300]

[Primordial: 0]

[Lifeforce: 882/912]

ORIGINS:

[Mind 17.95] Int:15, Mem:25, Per:14, Cla:10, Foc:12

[Body 7.80 (+0.20)] End:8, Vit:12 (+1), Str:8, Agi:5, Dex:6

[Spirit 8.60] Ada:17, Mag:5, Den:6, For:10, Pur:5

In the last 13 days, his Vitality Sub-origin had risen a point. It was probably the Deep Sea’s Vitality Spite showing an effect, alongside his physical training.

ARTS:

[Deep Sleep] Bloodline | Mortal 1 | Initial Step 2 | 104(+29)/300

[Inkwell Tendrils] Bloodline | Elite 1 | Initial Step 1 | 0/200

[Echoing Dreamscape] Auxiliary | Mortal 10 | Initial Step 7 (+1) | 268(+311)/800

[Calm Before Storm Breathing Technique] Cultivation | Mortal 5 | Initial Step 4 | 438(+420)/500

[Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms] Martial | Elite 2 | Initial Step 3 | 289(+201)/400

[Thousand Petals Awareness] Psychic | Elite 9 | Initial Step 9 (+2) | 915(+2113)/1000

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

TRAITS:

[Existential Anchor] Mortal 2 | Requirements Not Met

[Deep Writhing Clam Bloodline] Mortal 10 | 358 (+199)/1100

[Qi Affinity] Mortal 7 | 36 (+21)/800

[Qi Awareness] Mortal 7 | 0/800

He was so close. Only 85 True Qi away from Level 10 Initial Step mastery in Thousand Petals Awareness. He was only able to intentionally induce sleep (or the trance) and enter the dreamscape in recent days thanks to its already high level.

At level 10, if his guess was right, he would need 1100 True Qi to the next mastery tier. What was it again?

Right, Blossoming Path.

Thousand Petals. Blossoming. Synaptic Bloom.

A fitting moniker. Was he this good at naming?

As for his bloodline trait, it gained quite a bit of true qi too. Though that was to be expected. Still, a long way from levelling up.

Yu Han tugged at his chin.

“So who beat you up?” he asked Fang Zhao. He decided it was time to be insistent.

“Brother Yu—”

“Gong Muhua beat me up. There was Jie Tong too. And Bushy Beard, though he’s dead. The other city guards aren’t. I’ll get to them eventually.”

Fang Zhao didn’t reply.

“Niu’er was absolutely clobbered by Qiao Jinhai. Her sister was also nasty. Even been whipped? Li Yao was probably punched and kicked all his life. That scar didn’t come from caresses.”

The humidity was high. It was a wonder why the wooden houses and huts didn’t mould. Was the wood treated specially? Even after possibly centuries of being abandoned, the wooden frame of the hatch leading underground was devoid of any rot. Though, weeds did grow on it. Roots from the surrounding trees also sunk in.

Was this what sustainable architecture looked like?

“You don’t have to say it now if you don’t want to,” Yu Han said. “But the next time someone beats me up, I’d at least like you guys to know.”

“What is revenge if you can’t take it alone?” Fang Zhao said.

“I’m pretty sure whoever is after you will harass us too.”

“They want to humiliate me. That’s their goal. Why would they—alright, I get it. They will most definitely come after you.”

“Was it the core disciple?” Yu Han asked.

Fang Zhao nodded.

“What’s his name?”

“Zhang Jiyou.”

A core disciple. There weren’t many of those. There were hundreds of thousands of outer sect disciples. As for inner sect disciples like Tan Ruoxuan, Yu Han hadn’t seen many of them either. Supposedly they either lived in the Great Barrier City or the inner sect sanctum. Loitering around the outer sect sanctum was frowned upon if they didn’t have a internal mission posting. As for core disciples?

Yu Han only knew Duan Xiaolong.

Unlike inner and outer sect disciples, there were no ‘indirect’ core disciples. There were a few ways to become one.

The easiest was to be chosen by a core elder. There were few of them. The leaders of the five core clans, the palaces, and the halls, alongside a few other positions. It didn’t help that these positions overlapped often. Neither that one needed to be in the nascent soul realm.

Unlike with inner sect disciples, it didn’t matter whether a someone was in the body tempering or foundation building realm when being chosen. Officially, they might done inner sect or outer sect colours, but practically they’d be treated like core disciples.

Achieving foundation building before a specific age was also one way. They would be assigned a master, again one of the core elders, in this case. Yu Han forgot how old though. Was it 30 years old?

Yu Han wasn’t sure what would happen if, say, a disciple already had a master who wasn’t a core elder, and reached foundation building before the required age.

Come to think of it, inner sect and outer sect elders also got to chose disciples, as did stewards. There were some laws and traditions here Yu Han had missed, and he would need to look them up.

Whatever the case, core disciples were the ones that received the most investment in the sect. They were the future sect leadership. Almost all core and inner sect leadership positions would eventually go to them.

Offending one was like offending a future minister. And cultivators kept grudges.

“What do you know about him?” Yu Han asked. “This Zhang Jiyou fella.”

“He’s from the Skycaller Zhang Clan of the Divine Xia Capital,” Fang Zhao said. “I know he’s a direct descendant, but since he’s training at the Stormy Reef Sect and not his clan, he can’t be among the top scions. I have no idea what he has against me. The Trueforge Fang and Skycaller Zhang have always had an amicable relationship.”

“When in doubt, blame women,” Yu Han said.

“Brother Yu, that sounds not so right.”

Uh-huh. When in doubt, you can blame men too. But memes are memes. Yu Han cleared his throat, “I meant to say. Does your former fiance have anything to do with it?”

“Can’t say. She’s found another man if rumours are to be believed.”

“Bros before hoes, my dude.”

“Stop that,” Fang Zhao sounded angry. “I wish her the best. She never wronged me. It’s I who—”

“How do you know if she isn’t complicit with Zirong Peihou?”

“We’re not even sure if Zirong Peihou knows anything.”

“But you hate his guts,” Yu Han pointed out.

“He was… less than subtle in his disappointment.”

“You got bullied,” Yu Han said. “Now this Zhang Jiyou is bullying you. They’ll probably try to isolate you next. They’ll come for me with threats and tell me to betray your trust for a million spirit stones. Just like with your previous courtyard. Maybe he’ll have me set a trap, have us humiliate you in front of a girl you’ll fancy.”

“Brother Yu,” Fang Zhao rubbed his forehead.

“Don’t worry,” Yu Han said. “I’ll take that million and then double-cross him. I’ll give you half.”

The red-eyed boy rolled his ruby eyes.

Yu Han was speaking out of his ass here. Tropes in books were one thing, but perhaps Zhang Jiyou had some other agenda. Who knew.

When he decided to give Fang Zhao his aid when the guy had been kicked out of his courtyard, he’d already let the ship sail.

He’d nurture this connection. And the connection was already giving back.

Inkwell Tendrils, for one.

Yu Han had no idea how useful the art would be. But it was a bloodline art. A permanent fixture to his deck. Yu Han would take it over some potions and elixirs any day of the week. It gave would give him options and flexibility.

Mistress Miao could deign to share other secrets down the line too, perhaps? Secrets that even the Sect would probably not be privy to (though he couldn’t be sure).

The sun set. Fang Zhao practised martial arts. The guy could learn an elite grade one in hours, not weeks.

Yu Han still hadn’t learnt Steady Bull Steps. He was getting there, but was the time investment worth it? Martial arts weren’t his forte.

Hours passed by. Something was scratching the wooden board that closed the hatch to the cavern below.

Yu Han pushed it open, and a cat rushed out.

“Fang Zhao,” she mewed. “We’re done here. Let’s go.” She tugged Fang Zhao’s pants.

Cute, Yu Han shook his head. That was a millennia-old cat. Cats are always cute.

“Haaaaaaaaan’er….” A ghostly wail drifted out from the hatch. “It hurts….”

“Are you clothed?”

“Make the pain go away.”

“Did you put on your robes?”

“It hurts to move.”

“What dresses drape over you?”

“Stop offending me.”

Yu Han took that as a yes. His heartbeat rose. He took out a glow rock and went down the stairs. Huang Niuniu was lying on her belly fully clothed.

Yu Han was disappointed.

She must have been damp, and didn’t wipe off the excess liquid. The clothes stuck to her like a skin-tight diving suit.

The cauldron was nearly empty.

“You have a big butt.”

“Go away!”

「What’s a butt?」 Fei Rui, who had followed him, asked.

“It’s a… word,” Yu Han said.

「Oh, ok.」 Fei Rui grew and lifted the cauldron. 「Can I put it in my stash?」

“No,” Yu Han said. “We’ll cook food in it and sell it.”

“No we won’t,” Huang Niuniu said. Her face was resting against a folded piece of cloth so her voice came out low-pitched. “I took a bath in that. It’s disgusting.”

“If we market it like that, our sales will increase.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Cultivator girl bath water.”

“Disgusting!”

“Did it work?” Yu Han asked. Fang Zhao and Mistress Miao, who had come down, probably had the same question.

“It did,” Huang Niuniu turned her head sideways with effort. Her pupils glowed, like stars trapped in a void. A drop of water slid down her wet lips, where a strand of her hair was stuck. She beamed. “Fang Zhao, thanks—mmmhpph!”

Yu Han covered her face.

“What are you doing?” Huang Niuniu questioned after he let go.

“Don’t,” Yu Han said. “He’ll fall for you.”