The Programmer Cultivator

’{Activate Technique, then, generate Dao Mark.

If (Technique is actively cast AND consciousness selects it)

{Then, cancel corresponding Dao Mark.}

Else {Then, Dao Mark persists.}

}’

With this change, he could now actively remove the Dao Mark. This was to prevent certain Cultivators on strange paths from trapping his Summoning Objects and using the Dao Marks on them to cause trouble for him in return.

Although he might never encounter such a situation, it was never wrong to take precautions.

After finishing the modifications, Zhang Deming ran a test. Once he confirmed everything was normal, he selected ”upload and complete.”

All the code Runes transformed into countless points of light. Instead of gathering together, they scattered among all of his Summoning Class Magic Runes, with many also dispersing into his Dantian.

Watching all of this, Zhang Deming was stunned for a moment, almost thinking it had failed. If it weren’t for the standard enlightenment that followed, he would have truly believed the edit was a failure.

After a long while, once the Technique had finished forming, Zhang Deming discovered it was completely different from his other Techniques.

Because there was no Rune Ball, it couldn’t be equipped and had no level. Furthermore, the moment it became a passive Technique, it seemed to lose its level. The level of the Dao Mark now depended on the level of the Technique being cast.

Zhang Deming then ran several more tests and found that editing this Skill into a passive ability had been a wise decision. This Summoning Dao Mark Technique was simply perfect as a passive.

Zhang Deming then turned his attention to the six Bloodline Transformation Techniques. He no longer lacked ordinary abilities and had no need to learn any more common Low-Level Techniques.

Doing so wouldn’t improve his strength; it would just be a waste of Qi Fortune.

Only the Bloodline Transformation Techniques were different. Due to a previous discovery, he knew that after editing them, their Rune Balls would be exceptionally pure and highly adhesive. This was because they didn’t have a corresponding Bloodline integrated into them.

Under these circumstances, he could completely replicate the Seventy-Two Transformations.

If he learned enough transformations and the Daoist Techniques he fused with them were of a high enough tier, he could even replicate the Top-Level Scripture Technique of the Bloodline Transformation Path in the future—the ultimate evolution of the Seventy-Two Transformations, the Thousand Transformations!

Because of this discovery, Zhang Deming didn’t mind learning a whole slew of Bloodline Transformation-type Techniques. After all, he didn’t need to equip them; they would serve purely as a foundation for something greater.

This wouldn’t be a waste of Qi Fortune. No matter how many he learned, it would just serve to build his foundation.

Seeing his considerable amount of Energy, Zhang Deming got to work editing the six basic Bloodline Transformation Techniques.

After a long time, the editing of the six Techniques was complete. Once the Rune Balls condensed in his Dantian, Zhang Deming paid them no more mind.

He’d already had one wretched experience with the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Python, and that was more than enough. Besides, that incident allowed him to guess what the effects of these Techniques would be, so he just left them alone.

After he finished editing all the Techniques, Zhang Deming finally used one point of Merit.

”Consume one point of Merit to condense and open an equipment slot?”

”Yes!”

”Equip Splitting Skill? Warning: This is not a main equipment slot. Once equipped, it cannot be removed.”

”Yes!”

...

Splitting Skill Lv. 1 (0/2)

Splitting Skill: Currently able to split off one path. Warning: This Skill has severe consequences. If you do not possess a corresponding retrieval method, please be cautious when splitting a path.

...

He checked his Qi Fortune. Editing all the Techniques had cost thirteen points, leaving him with twenty-three. This definitely wasn’t enough for a Law-Level Technique, but it was enough to raise his Splitting Skill to Tier Three.

”Consume two points of Qi Fortune to raise Splitting Skill to Tier Two?”

”Yes!”

”Consume ten points of Qi Fortune to raise Splitting Skill to Tier Three?”

”Yes!”

...

When everything settled, the Splitting Skill had reached Tier Three. It could now split off four paths at once. That’s right—four, not three. The ability didn’t just add one path per tier; it grew exponentially.

One at Tier One, two at Tier Two, four at Tier Three, and an estimated eight at Tier Four. ’Once it reaches a high enough level,’ he thought, ’I’ll probably be able to split off all of my Daos!’

’If I also learn some skill like ”Rune division without injury” or something, could my Scattering Beans into Soldiers Technique summon a massive army of Cultivators from all different Daos in the future?’ Zhang Deming’s mind wandered as he pondered the possibilities.

After a long while, he came back to his senses, collected his thoughts, and checked his stats. Merit: 78.4, Qi Fortune: 11.5, Karma: 1.4.

His Qi Fortune was nearly depleted again. If he wanted to advance another Technique to the Law Level, he would have to save up for two more months.

His Merit, on the other hand, was over seventy points, which was no small amount. This was just in time, as with his current Cultivation, his Spirit Root Talent was becoming a critical bottleneck. ’With a Spirit Root of only twenty-one points, if I want to reach the Three Talents realm in the future, I need to start working on my Body Disc.’

Looking at his Merit, Zhang Deming went to the main page of his editing panel and typed, ’/Body/Spirit Root’.

”Body Disc Talisman: All functions are locked except for the basic ’Appearance Modification’ function. Do you wish to consume 50 Merit to unlock the Spirit Root category?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Deming confirmed.

The moment he confirmed, Zhang Deming felt a sudden tremor. He had a feeling that something major was about to happen; his Spiritual Sense was unusually active.

Immediately after, Zhang Deming’s vision changed. The world around him became a vibrant, multicolored, yet extremely illusory place. It was as if everything was composed of countless points of light.

Some were sparse, some were dense, and others pulsed with strange, vibrant colors.

In a daze, Zhang Deming realized that he, too, was a cluster of light—a swarm of countless points drawn together by a strange core.