The Programmer Cultivator

Zhang Deming smiled and nodded, looking at Yang Guangfu. ”Junior Brother Yang,” he said, ”could you pull up the Inner Sect’s resources for promotion to the Duality realm for me to take a look?”

Yang Guangfu paused, hesitating for a moment. Zhang Deming raised an eyebrow. ”Is there a problem, Junior Brother Yang?”

Yang Guangfu replied, ”Senior Brother Zhang, resources for promotion to the Duality realm are in very short supply within the Inner Sect.”

Every hundred years, we can only painstakingly scrape together thirty to fifty sets, while the number of people needing to advance is dozens of times that.

Therefore, one must apply for Duality promotion resources in advance, undergo a review, have their case weighed by various departments, and after careful deliberation, endure a long wait in a queue just for a chance to get a spot.

Zhang Deming frowned. ”So you’re saying I need to secure a spot before I can even purchase or exchange for the resources?”

Yang Guangfu nodded. ”That’s right.”

Zhang Deming asked, ”Is it like this for everyone?”

Yang Guangfu glanced hesitantly at Qu Qingxian. ”Not entirely,” he said. ”There are always some Disciples who get a pass for immediate access. If you need it for yourself, Senior Brother Zhang, that should be possible.

But whether you wait in line or get a pass, you only get one such spot. It’s essentially for your own use. That’s not explicitly stated, but it’s the general understanding.”

Zhang Deming replied, ”In other words, it’s fine for me to claim my own promotion resources?”

Yang Guangfu nodded. ”Yes.”

Zhang Deming said, ”In that case, pull up the formulas. I’ll pick one, and then I’ll take a look at the promotion resources.”

At this, Yang Guangfu glanced at Qu Qingxian again, assuming Zhang Deming was using this as an opportunity to acquire the resources for him. After a pause, he added, ”But Senior Brother Zhang, trying to apply for them a second time will be extremely difficult.”

Zhang Deming said nonchalantly, ”That’s fine.”

Yang Guangfu’s brow furrowed, and he shot several meaningful glances at Qu Qingxian. But Qu Qingxian just listened quietly, watching in silence as if he hadn’t noticed a thing.

The moment he had walked in, he had said he was merely short on a few resources—an extremely subtle way of expressing his needs and testing the waters.

And yet, up to this point, Zhang Deming had never once asked what specific resources he was lacking.

Combined with yesterday’s conversation with Zhang Wu at the All Living Beings Tower, an Old Demon like him, with his centuries of experience in the ways of the world, had already pieced things together.

Therefore, at this juncture, he wasn’t about to speak up and undermine Zhang Deming just to avoid offending a Gate Guard Disciple.

So what if this Disciple saw him as greedy and unreasonable? Getting the Spirit Nurturing Bead and achieving his promotion was all that mattered.

Once he advanced, the Qu Family would enjoy another thousand years of glory and gradually progress toward becoming a Duality Family.

If he succeeded, the Qu Family would become a top-tier Noble Family within the Celestial Spirit Sect’s sphere of influence, perhaps even vying for power within the Inner Sect itself.

Seeing this, a rather helpless Yang Guangfu took out his Identity Card, materialized a Light Screen, and asked, ”Senior Brother Zhang, are you still choosing the Demon Spirit Summoning promotion path?”

He glanced over at Qu Qingxian. Seeing that the man didn’t say which promotion path he was on, his expression relaxed considerably.

Zhang Deming nodded. ”Let’s look at the universal formula first.”

Yang Guangfu seemed stunned for a moment, then quickly tapped the Light Screen a few times. A formula appeared before them.

Formula: Summoner (Universal, Duality)

Technique Requirement: The Three Lives Rune must be fully condensed and linked with the Rune Core.

Main Material: Infant Spirit Hollow Jade (Five thousand Contribution Points, Universal Summoning, Out of Stock);

Auxiliary Materials: One Hundred-Life Fruit (Five hundred Contribution Points, Universal Summoning, In Stock);

One standard bottle of Essence Flower Primordial Spirit Liquid (Four hundred Contribution Points, Universal Summoning, In Stock);

One standard unit of Nourishing Spirit Wood (Six hundred Contribution Points, Universal Summoning, In Stock);

One Empty Willow Tree Heart (Five hundred Contribution Points, Universal Summoning, In Stock);

One portion of Hundred Spirits Heart-Binding Grass (Seven hundred Contribution Points, Universal Summoning, Out of Stock);

One section of Heart-Connected Lotus Root (Two thousand Contribution Points, Optional Additional Material, Out of Stock)

Total Contribution Points: 7,700 (including 2,000 optional).

Note: The Heart-Connected Lotus Root is an optional additional material. Its exclusion will not affect the promotion.

However, after advancing with this material, any Summoning Class user and their summoned beings will find it easier to form a telepathic connection, communicate, and build a stronger bond.

However, this material is a high-quality optional additive for most Duality formulas and is thus quite precious and rare. Please decide for yourself whether or not to seek it out.

Please select other minor Auxiliary Materials at your own discretion.

Looking at the nearly eight thousand Contribution Points required, Zhang Deming felt a headache coming on.

Thankfully, Inner Sect Contribution Points could be traded like currency.

It wasn’t like the Outer Sect, where the Sect restricted their circulation for reasons of administration and profit, forcing disciples to earn all Contribution Points on their own.

If that were the case, Zhang Deming couldn’t imagine how big of a headache he’d have.

Zhang Deming paused for a moment. ”Let’s see the formula for Demon Spirit Summoning.”

As he operated the screen, Yang Guangfu said, ”Demon Spirit Summoning... I believe a Senior Brother advanced using this path eight years ago. I’d guess most of the materials are out of stock.”

With that, he had already navigated to the formulas: Demon Spirit Summoning · Solitary and Demon Spirit Summoning · Swarm.

Yang Guangfu looked at the Light Screen, then paused and turned to Zhang Deming. ”Senior Brother Zhang, will you be choosing to specialize in a single Spirit, or overwhelm with numbers?”

’An elite development path versus a horde strategy, huh?’

’As for which path is a better fit... Demon Spirit Summoning · Solitary seems a little closer to my current style, right?’

’After all, I can only summon three Mirror Images at a time. If I try to summon another while three are active, the first one dissipates.’

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Deming chose ”Solitary.” The formula appeared a moment later.

Formula: Demon Spirit Summoning · Solitary (Duality)

Materials: Omitted...

It was just as Yang Guangfu had said. Specialized formulas usually required three main materials, and the one displayed before him showed that not a single one of the three was available. All were out of stock.

As for the Auxiliary Materials, they weren’t too different from the universal formula’s list; only one item was out of stock.