The Programmer Cultivator

An attendant was standing at the door. When he saw Zhang Deming open it, he spoke respectfully, ”Senior, someone downstairs claims to have an appointment with you. Per your previous instructions, I’ve come to ask: is this the person you’re waiting for?”

Once the attendant finished speaking, he held out a hand. Spiritual Light rose from his palm like smoke, showing Zhang Deming the face of a stranger.

Zhang Deming asked, ”Did he say anything?”

The attendant replied, ”The man said he’s here to discuss an order with you, Senior.”

Zhang Deming nodded. ”That’s right. I do have an appointment with him. Bring him in.”

The attendant replied, ”Very well, Senior. Please wait a moment.”

With that, the attendant bowed and turned to leave.

Zhang Deming sat down in the room and quietly waited for his visitor’s arrival.

A moment later, the attendant led a middle-aged man into the room. After showing the man in, the attendant turned to leave, closing the door behind him.

”Greetings, Senior.”

The middle-aged man’s expression was wooden. Although it was obvious he was trying hard to suppress his emotions, Zhang Deming could still see nervousness in his demeanor, along with a strange excitement. He looked at Zhang Deming with a hint of apprehension.

Zhang Deming had been watching the man since he entered the room. The moment the man spoke, Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly.

’This aura?’

’Why does it feel so familiar?’

The moment doubt rose in his mind, Spiritual Light flashed in Zhang Deming’s eyes as he activated his Tier Two Mastery Level Spiritual Eye Reconnaissance.

Before Zhang Deming’s eyes, a smokey haze slowly rose from the middle-aged man’s face.

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed again. The Spiritual Light in his eyes flared, piercing straight through the haze and revealing the man’s original face.

Then, Zhang Deming froze. ’How can it be this guy?’

Zhang Deming had good reason to be surprised. He had run into this person twice before, and on both occasions, the man was being hunted by Martial Artists. It was that peculiar Yin Yang Chess Dao Cultivator—Tong Hou.

’So back when we were trapped outside the Secret Realm, this guy had a Tier Five Cultivation Technique on him the whole time?’

’I really missed out on a treasure!’

After his greeting, the middle-aged man noticed Zhang Deming just staring at him without saying a word, and he grew nervous.

He kept one hand motionless in his pocket.

As the Spiritual Light in Zhang Deming’s eyes flared, a pendant on the man’s chest began to flicker.

Before he could even react, the pendant vibrated a few times, and fine cracks began to appear on it. The Disguise Technique on his face also became unstable, wavering noticeably.

He was suddenly taken aback, and his expression soured as he said, ”Senior, don’t you think you’re going a little too far?”

Now that Zhang Deming had seen his true face, he considered the man partly in his grasp.

The advantage was only partial because the hand the man had kept in his pocket since walking in was clutching a Command Token.

Thanks to his Spiritual Eye, Zhang Deming could see the Command Token with perfect clarity.

Zhang Deming replied nonchalantly, ”I don’t see how. You’re the one who came to do business with me while hiding your face.”

”If the item you’re offering hadn’t genuinely interested me, do you think you’d still be here?”

”If I were to put the word out... Hah! The line of people wanting to do business with me would stretch from here to the Celestial Spirit Sect and back again several times over.”

As he spoke, Zhang Deming showed no awareness of the fact that he, too, was heavily disguised.

”Does this mean you’re no longer interested in talking, Senior?” Tong Hou, still in his middle-aged disguise, asked.

With a faint smile, Zhang Deming looked at Tong Hou and said, ”Little fellow, you’re a Disciple of the Celestial Spirit Sect, aren’t you?”

”I admit, with that Small Shifting Talisman in your hand, few people could stop you from leaving.”

”But what do you think the Celestial Spirit Sect’s reaction would be if I spread the word that you’ve obtained the Cyan Wood Divine Refining Technique?”

”The higher-ups risk life and limb to solve the problem with the Secret Realm, only for some junior to get lucky, swoop in, and steal the Core Daoist Canon. And now, instead of turning it over to the Sect, he’s trying to sell it.”

”Tsk, tsk. I think if Dang Jun’an were to find out about this, he’d be green with fury.”

As he spoke, Zhang Deming waved his hand, and a surge of Spiritual Light appeared between the two of them.

The sudden movement made the tense Tong Hou flinch, his hand trembling so badly he almost activated the object in his pocket and fled.

Eventually, the surging Spiritual Light between them coalesced into the phantom image of a young man.

Zhang Deming looked at the holographic image he had created with a Basic Illusion Array and said:

”There. I’ll spread this image along with the rumors. What do you suppose your fate will be then?”

Tong Hou looked at the young man’s phantom image, slightly taken aback. Then, the smoke on his face shifted, and his original features were restored.

The wooden expression vanished from his face, replaced by his usual, somewhat hapless look. He sighed in resignation and said,

”Sigh... why is every senior I meet so difficult? But, Senior, I must correct you. I obtained this through my own hard work. I didn’t just get lucky.”

Zhang Deming smiled. ”Is that so? Do you think the higher-ups at the Celestial Spirit Sect will believe you?”

Hearing this, Tong Hou spread his hands. ”Of course they won’t. But will you really do that, Senior?”

”You’ve been trying to intimidate me from the moment I walked in. If you weren’t actually interested, why would a great figure like a Spirit Nurturing Master waste so much Heart Power on a simple Apprentice like me, right?”

”That being the case, why don’t we just speak freely?”

As he spoke, Tong Hou casually plopped down onto a nearby chair. He looked much more relaxed, but every nerve in his body remained tense.

Zhang Deming didn’t pay it much mind. He looked at Tong Hou and said, ”You’re right, I am interested.”

”But I’m not the type who enjoys beating around the bush in business. So if you really want to negotiate, let’s be frank.”