The Programmer Cultivator

Of course, there were exceptions for certain special departments, like the Array Department, which had always been at the forefront of the times.

But in the major frontier Sects and Blessed Holy Lands, the trend was already quite obvious.

In just a few short decades—a lightning-fast change for the Hongmeng Cultivation Realm.

The changes were particularly pronounced wherever the Outer Realm study groups had passed, which was evident from many of the new terms being used.

”Celestial Secret” had become ”strategy,” Ding Jia Bean Soldiers were now uniformly called ”Summoning,” the Divine Movement Technique had become the Agility Technique, the Light Body Skill had become the Feather Fall Technique, and so on.

It reached a point where, even though it was still the same Cultivation Realm, it gave Zhang Deming a slightly fantastical feeling. Even daily life and communication were starting to modernize.

Because of the ultra-slow pace of life in the Hongmeng Realm, a few decades felt like a few months to a mortal. As a result, many Sects had no involvement with the Outer Realm and no concept of it.

However, in the places the study groups had visited, the influence of the Outer Realm’s Dao Transmission on the Hongmeng Dao Transmission—especially on the hundred Miscellaneous Arts—could only be described as a dramatic and sudden storm.

Among them, the ”big brothers” of the Miscellaneous Arts—the twin Daos of Arrays and Artifacts—were the most conspicuously infiltrated.

Zhang Deming could see all this at a glance. Why hadn’t the old monsters in the Blessed Holy Lands noticed?

’Is it just because it’s been too short a time, and the higher-ups simply haven’t noticed yet?’

’Or maybe... these things just aren’t important?’

As he continued to browse through the information, Zhang Deming’s doubt grew heavier.

After a long moment, Zhang Deming shook his head. ’I’m really overthinking this. What the hell does it have to do with me!’

’Who cares if the hundred Miscellaneous Arts are being invaded? Even if all six major categories were taken over, as long as it doesn’t affect my Cultivation, what business is it of mine!’

For several days straight, while passively cultivating, Zhang Deming crammed all sorts of knowledge and became increasingly familiar with the Celestial Spirit Sect.

After learning about orders and the normal workflow of a Spirit Nurturing Master, Zhang Deming decided not to give up on his shop in Celestial Spirit City.

He simply maintained the sales quota of one hundred fifty Spirit Nurturing Beads per month and didn’t add any more for the time being.

He had no intention of abandoning this shop. To be precise, it was just a prototype. He planned to use it as a template to launch a Business Alliance of chain stores.

This was because he didn’t just need a few thousand Spirit Stones; he needed massive amounts of them, as well as Qi Fortune and Merit. Right now, the Blue Sky Branch was his main source of Energy.

The reason he hadn’t started duplicating the template was that he still lacked something important—a backer.

Distributing a small quota of Spirit Nurturing Beads to each branch every month could indeed quickly build popularity and open up the market.

But the Spirit Nurturing Beads would also attract prying eyes. Once the Business Alliance was fully established, it would be far beyond such small-scale squabbles.

As for the trustworthiness of his personnel, with the accumulation of light motes, that would be manageable when the time came.

But he still didn’t have the most critical component: a powerful backer. Not just anyone could support a large-scale Business Alliance.

The Celestial Spirit Sect, however, was a good option. But for now, Zhang Deming didn’t know how to secure their backing, so he could only wait and see.

***

One day, Zhang Deming’s Identity Card vibrated. He took it out and saw the message was from Gan Zili.

Having spent some time gathering information, Zhang Deming now had a certain understanding of the three great Spirit Nurturing Masters of Spirit Nurturing Peak.

Zhang Deming had known the Great Peak Master, Yue Mengsheng, for a long time. He was a stubbornly lazy ”salted fish”—a classic example of a modern-day tech geek.

But he wasn’t simple-minded. On the contrary, he was the shrewdest of the three.

His mind was the most meticulous and his Heart was the best, but he was a bit of a ”salted fish” who hated trouble. He held the title of Great Peak Master but rarely managed any affairs.

If not for his tech-geek, ”salted fish” personality, his prestige in the Celestial Spirit Sect would probably be several times higher.

Second Peak Master Gan Zili was the most Ordinary of them all. His personality, Heart, looks, and even Talent were all unremarkable.

If not for his status as a Spirit Nurturing Master, he was the type of person who, if thrown into a crowd of Cultivators, would be extremely difficult to pick out again. Yet, he was the one primarily responsible for the important daily affairs of Spirit Nurturing Peak.

However, because his Heart was too Ordinary, Yue Mengsheng still had to make the final decisions on some matters.

The third, Gu Liancai, was an oddball with the most unique personality.

He possessed the combined ”virtues” of a researcher, a socially oblivious man, a thousand-year-old contrarian, and a divinely toxic tongue. He had a talent for offending people the moment he opened his mouth, basically tap-dancing on their last nerve.

If he weren’t a Spirit Nurturing Master, he probably wouldn’t have lived to this day, let alone achieve his current level of Cultivation.

Even with the protection of his Spirit Nurturing Master status, he wasn’t very popular in the Sect. Most people were polite to his face but kept their distance behind his back, and that included the Disciples of Spirit Nurturing Peak.

Few in the entire Sect liked him, and this was even more true on Spirit Nurturing Peak.

However, he was the most pure-hearted of the three, which was precisely why the trio on Spirit Nurturing Peak could get along harmoniously.

All in all, they were three brilliant technical experts, each with their own distinct personality.

***

Zhang Deming took out his Identity Card and activated the Light Screen.

”Junior Brother Zhang, to the Cloud Pool at the summit, the usual meeting place. We have matters to discuss!”

Looking at the message, Zhang Deming took a deep breath. ’Today is likely my first official step into the inner circle of Spirit Nurturing Masters on Spirit Nurturing Peak.’

Standing at the window of his loft and looking at the waterfall outside, Zhang Deming whispered, ”Flying.”

A pair of medium-sized wings sprouted from his back, vibrating with Rapid Speed. Zhang Deming became as light as a goose feather as a faint Spirit Wind formed beneath him, lifting him into the air.

His Tier Two Oratory, based on the Feather Fall Technique, had allowed Zhang Deming to achieve true flight.

’As for the speed, well...’