The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 94: Chapter 91: Martial Artist Robbery Again

”A pleasure doing business with you,” Qin Shizhong replied with a smile. ”If Senior Brother Zhang has nothing else, I’ll go and prepare the next batch of materials.”

”Alright. See you later,” Zhang Deming said.

”See you.” Qin Shizhong stood up and left.

”Oh, right. I almost forgot,” Zhang Deming suddenly remembered something and said.

Qin Shizhong paused and looked at Zhang Deming. ”Does Senior Brother Zhang have any other instructions?”

Zhang Deming said, ”In the next batch of materials, please add some Word Spirit-type materials. Not too many. Just like before, I need to run a few experiments.”

Qin Shizhong frowned slightly upon hearing this. Zhang Deming asked, puzzled, ”Is there a problem?”

Qin Shizhong explained, ”The Word Spirit series of materials is quite special. Most of them start at the One-Star Tai Chi level. There are very few unranked, Apprentice Level materials.

”And none of them are cheap. They’re generally at least twice as expensive as the materials I usually provide.

”This doesn’t meet the standards you set before, Senior Brother Zhang. Do you still want to add them to the purchase?”

Zhang Deming thought for a moment and said, ”In that case, just provide a few portions for experimentation next time. We can discuss whether we’ll need more in the future.”

”Alright, Senior Brother Zhang. Is there anything else?” Qin Shizhong asked.

Zhang Deming shook his head. ”That’s all.”

With that said, the two bid farewell again, and Qin Shizhong turned and left Qingyou Pool.

...

After his discussion with Qin Shizhong, Zhang Deming’s initial business chain for funding had finally been established, built from the ground up, bit by bit.

For the short term, this should be very convenient and unlikely to cause any problems.

After getting the materials, Zhang Deming began working overtime.

Broke once again, he needed to grind for several days to process this batch of materials before anything else.

When your pockets are empty, you not only lack confidence but also have no ability to bear risks.

After a few rushed days of intense, all-night work, Zhang Deming finished processing twenty Spirit Stones’ worth of materials.

Just as Zhang Deming had calculated, he had about a twenty percent success rate, at a cost of roughly one Spirit Stone per success.

With three to five portions of materials per Spirit Stone, he used twenty Spirit Stones’ worth of materials to create nineteen Spirit Nurturing Beads.

Zhang Deming let out a long sigh, feeling a bit dazed.

Just as he stepped outside, he ran into Zong En, who had come to call him for a meal. Seeing Zhang Deming’s bloodshot eyes, Zong En said:

”Brother Ming, you should take it easy if you want to keep up with your Tai Chi.

”I don’t know what you’ve been doing, staying up for days on end, but nothing is more important than your health.

”If your body breaks down, you’ll have nothing left.”

Zhang Deming nodded. ”Alright, I know. I’m done with the work. I won’t be grinding like this again anytime soon.”

With that, the two went out to eat. After the meal, Zhang Deming went straight back to his room and fell into bed.

He slept until the next day. Then, Zhang Deming took the Spirit Nurturing Beads he had made, borrowed two Spirit Stones from Zong En just in case, and headed for Celestial Spirit City once again.

While running, Zhang Deming’s expression flickered. ’Did I just run through an Array without realizing it?’

’Er, at the Apprentice Stage, it should probably just be called a Restriction.’

Celestial Spirit City and the Celestial Spirit Sect weren’t very close, but they weren’t too far apart either.

’Someone’s setting up a large-scale Restriction on this road?’

”Help, Junior Brother! Junior Brother up ahead, help me!” As Zhang Deming was observing with suspicion, a figure came running toward him at high speed.

Zhang Deming frowned. He changed direction several times, but the person followed his every move.

Just as they were about to collide, Zhang Deming managed to brake and come to a halt.

It was a middle-aged man. His cultivation was likely that of an Advanced Apprentice. His hair was a mess, his Daoist Robe was somewhat tattered, and he looked utterly disheveled.

Seeing the man’s dark cyan Outer Sect uniform, which was the same as his own, Zhang Deming asked, puzzled, ”Senior Brother, don’t tell me you were robbed?

”It’s only about an hour’s journey using the Agility Technique between Celestial Spirit City and the Celestial Spirit Sect. This area is still within the patrol range of the Sect’s Law Enforcement Team. A Loose Cultivator would dare to make a move here?

”Senior Brother, you must be pulling my leg.”

”It wasn’t a Loose Cultivator, it was... it was...” The middle-aged senior brother looked extremely awkward, as if he found it hard to say.

’What’s so shameful about being robbed?’

”Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with me. Senior Brother, go find someone else to joke with. I have things to do and no time to mess around with you. Hurry up and take down this Restriction.” Zhang Deming turned to leave.

The middle-aged senior brother blurted out anxiously, ”It’s mortals! A group of mortals are robbing people on the road!”

Zhang Deming’s expression changed. He turned back and asked, ”Mortals? You mean Martial Artists!”

The middle-aged senior brother nodded and said, ”They should be. I don’t know much about Martial Artists.

”But the ones who jumped out to rob me just now were indeed a group of mortals. They were well-organized and used coordinated attack techniques.

”Their leader, empowered by these techniques, was barely weaker than an Advanced Apprentice—far stronger than a Grandmaster Martial Artist.

”When they ambushed me, I saw I couldn’t beat them, so I just threw them my valuables, hoping to pay my way out of trouble.

”Who would have thought, they didn’t just want my money, they wanted me too!

”I have no idea what they want with my body!

”This group of mortals is even more terrifying than Demon Cultivators.

”I had heard some rumors before that a large group of mortal Martial Artists had suddenly appeared in the surrounding provinces, preying on Cultivators. I didn’t really believe it.

”But seeing this today, I think this matter needs to be reported to the Sect.”

The middle-aged senior brother had barely finished his hurried explanation when a group of seven people caught up to them.

The seven were dressed all in black, wearing black masks that covered their entire heads.

Even while running, the seven moved in an orderly fashion, maintaining a specific formation.

The aura of the person in the lead made Zhang Deming’s heart skip a beat. ’This person must have originally been a Grandmaster Martial Artist.’

Comparatively, a Grandmaster Martial Artist is significantly weaker than an Advanced Apprentice.

But empowered by the seven-person coordinated attack, he seemed to be on the verge of surpassing the Grandmaster level and breaking through to the next tier.

Therefore, in terms of aura alone, he was clearly stronger than an Advanced Apprentice.

After looking at Zhang Deming, the group paused slightly. The leader in black said, ”The Restriction is active. You can get in, but you can’t get out. We’ll take care of them both. Make it quick.”

As the group closed in without slowing down, Zhang Deming knew this couldn’t be resolved peacefully.

Zhang Deming tossed out several seeds, his hands flashing through a series of spell signs.

Vines shot out like tentacles, dancing through the air and guarding the two of them in the center like sentinels.

Several Vines whipped about ceaselessly.

But it was one against seven, and Zhang Deming was instantly struggling.

The leader was especially troublesome. Every one of his attacks destroyed Zhang Deming’s Vines, forcing him to use more Spiritual Power to grow new ones.

”What are you staring at? Do something and help!” Zhang Deming glared at the middle-aged man next to him.

Hearing this, Tong Hou looked a bit embarrassed. He pulled several black and white chess pieces from his pocket and shot them outwards.

Zhang Deming said, ”Your major is the Chess Dao from the Hundred Miscellaneous Arts?”

Tong Hou nodded awkwardly. Zhang Deming said, ”Even if it’s the Chess Dao, you managed to escape. You can’t be completely powerless. Stop slacking off!”