The Programmer Cultivator

For instance, the old man and the youth were currently being besieged by seven men in athletic attire.

From the looks of them, the oldest was thirty-five or thirty-six at most.

Yet among the seven of them, four were at the Peak of Postnatal, and three were Innate Experts.

Furthermore, among the three Innate Experts, the leader who had yet to make a move was at the Innate Peak of cultivation.

If the men besieging them hadn’t been so wary—trying to subdue their foes without injury for the entire fight—and if the youth hadn’t deliberately adopted a stance of trading a wound for a life, the battle would not have lasted until now.

Even so, their fate was already clear to see.

The six men continued their assault for a short while longer. The old man seemed to be running out of stamina. In a moment of carelessness, one of the attackers knocked the Long Sword from his hand with a club, instantly disarming and subduing him.

”Uncle Fu!”

Startled, the youth who had been barely holding on immediately reversed his grip on his Sword and pressed it to his own neck. The motion was swift and decisive, without a hint of hesitation; the sharp blade had already broken the skin on his neck.

”Young Master!”

”Don’t!”

”...”

The six attackers immediately released the newly subdued old man. Raising their hands, they quickly backed away to create some distance.

Even the Innate Peak Martial Artist, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, raised his hands, his expression slightly tense.

Zhang Deming watched this scene with great interest. ’Judging by the youth’s practiced movements, this clearly isn’t his first time pulling a stunt like this.’

’And this Power Dao, this sense of measure, was also extremely interesting.’

’The blade was incredibly sharp, yet the youth managed to apply just enough pressure to barely break the skin. The threat was immediately apparent, yet he was unharmed.’

’I have to say, he really is a Postnatal Martial Artist. That level of precision shows he’s got some skill!’

’But why does such an adorable-looking boy have to learn the tactics of a female lead in a romance drama, threatening suicide at the drop of a hat?’

Zhang Deming glanced at the seven men again. The reason he’d come over wasn’t to watch the drama unfold; it was mainly because this group, a seven-man unit, had caught his attention.

Thus, Spiritual Light flickered in his eyes as he scanned each of the men, but he didn’t find the strange Fire-Folding he was looking for.

’So they’re just ordinary Martial Artists?’

”Young Master, don’t be reckless! We can talk this over!” the leader said to the youth, looking tense.

After speaking, he shot a glare at the old man on the ground, signaling him to hurry up and say something.

”Young Master, please don’t do this. It’s not worth harming yourself for this old servant,” the old man said anxiously.

”Uncle Fu, come over here first,” the youth said to the old man, his Sword held steady.

The old man staggered to his feet, his movements labored. It was clear he really couldn’t hold on much longer.

”Young Master, how about you put the Sword down first and let Uncle Fu treat your wound? We can talk things out properly. How does that sound?” the leader said in a placating tone.

”There’s nothing to discuss. Either let us go, or take my corpse back to answer to that man,” the youth said, backing away with the old man.

The six men turned to look at their leader. The leader watched the youth, not daring to actually pursue them. After a moment of deliberation, he said:

”Young Master, you should know that even if we let you go, you won’t get very far. So please, just come back with us.

There’s nothing that can’t be discussed.

Whatever the Elder Sect Leader did wrong, you two are father and son. You can sort it out if you just talk to each other in private.”

The youth paused at his words, a flicker of hatred in his eyes. ”I have nothing to say to him,” he said coldly.

With that said, having already put a significant distance between them, he turned and fled with the old man.

”Captain, what do we do?” a man beside the leader asked.

”What else can we do? Send word back and let the Elder Sect Leader decide. For now, we’ll just follow them,” the leader said.

With that, he led his men in cautious pursuit, tailing them from a distance.

’This is...?’

’A rebellious phase?’

’Then again, the Martial Arts World really is something else. Even a rebellious teenager can cause this much of a scene.’

Zhang Deming watched the scene and pondered for a moment. In light of them moving as a seven-man team, he raised his hand and waved it. Several specks of emerald-green Spirit Species appeared in his palm.

As the youth and the seven Martial Artists were about to disappear from sight, he casually threw the specks over. The Spirit Species invaded their bodies directly, and no one present noticed a thing.

After finishing this casual task, Zhang Deming watched the group slowly disappear from sight and paid them no more mind. The Light Wings on his back pulsed, and he resumed his journey toward Huayue City.

...

Liuzhou, Tongzhou, Yuanzhou, Huazhou, and over a dozen surrounding prefectures were all under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Spirit Sect. The sect itself was located within the Hengduan Mountain Range in Yuanzhou.

Tongzhou was located at the border of the Celestial Spirit Sect’s territory. Past Tongzhou was the domain of Hua Shui Palace.

Huayue City in Tongzhou was a famous Cultivator city, only slightly smaller than Celestial Spirit City.

Because it was situated at the junction between two major powers, the Loose Cultivator population was particularly prosperous. Of course, it was also quite chaotic. Things were fine inside the city, but the chaos became palpable the moment one stepped outside the safe zone.

For this very reason, however, Huayue City had become a paradise for Loose Cultivators.

The area inside the city was relatively safe, as the major powers went to great lengths to maintain order. The area outside the city, however, was extremely chaotic.

This gave rise to a unique profession—highway robbery. Many people lost their lives, had their cultivation crippled, and saw their path to longevity severed as a result.

Yet, many others struck it rich overnight, ascending to new heights and escaping their status as bottom-tier Cultivators forever.

...