The Programmer Cultivator

Qin Shizhong froze for a moment, then chuckled. ”Martial Uncle, why don’t you try being a disciple who’s only eight or nine years old?”

”Get lost!” Zhang Deming retorted with a laugh.

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Qin Shizhong was kicked out of the room. Not far from the door, he happened to run into Wang Qian, who was walking toward him.

Qin Shizhong paused. With a cryptic look, he said, ”It seems congratulations are in order, Junior Sister. Martial Uncle doesn’t have a single Child Attendant at the moment.”

A Child, especially a so-called Child Attendant who serves directly by one’s side, could in some ways be compared to a disciple—or even an Inner Disciple.

”I will always remember your kindness, Senior Brother.” Wang Qian paused slightly, bowed to Qin Shizhong, and said something completely unrelated.

Hearing this, Qin Shizhong showed a faint smile. ”We’re fellow disciples. There’s no need to be so formal, Junior Sister.”

”Martial Uncle summoned me. I’ll go in now,” Wang Qian said, her expression unchanging.

Qin Shizhong was already used to Wang Qian’s icy expression. He nodded nonchalantly and said, ”Go on, then. Don’t keep Martial Uncle waiting.”

With that, they passed each other.

Qin Shizhong glanced back at Wang Qian’s retreating figure and thought to himself, ’I hope I won’t regret helping her back then.’

······

”Young Master, you called for me?” Wang Qian said, bowing to Zhang Deming after entering the room. Even facing Zhang Deming, she still had that icy expression, though it had softened just a fraction.

Over the past month, Wang Qian had been like this—burying everything in her heart, showing almost no emotional fluctuation. There was nothing Zhang Deming could do about it.

After all, she was just a thirteen-year-old girl. Precocious as she was, she had still experienced such a tragedy. The fact that her spirit hadn’t been warped was a testament to how well he had handled the situation, giving her a small corner of warmth to hold onto in her heart.

Zhang Deming looked at Wang Qian, his thoughts drifting for a moment before he spoke. ”Have you decided on the path you’ll take from the choices I gave you last time? At your age, if you don’t want to waste your Talent, you can’t afford to delay any longer.

At thirteen or fourteen, many talented disciples in the Sect are already Intermediate Apprentices. Some are even preparing for the Tai Chi stage.”

”I have decided. I choose the Heart Dream Path,” Wang Qian said, her face impassive.

Zhang Deming paused, looking at Wang Qian. ”Are you sure? The Heart Spirit Path is a High Tier path. Your Talent is good enough, and your past experiences would even be quite helpful for it.

But if you really choose this path, you’ll have to stay in the Sect and cultivate peacefully until you reach Duality. Even after reaching Duality, if your Techniques haven’t reached the Law Level, you won’t necessarily be a match for Cultivators of the same stage.

And at the Three Talents stage, when the Three Souls manifest, that will be a time of world-shaking change for you. But among the hundreds of thousands of Inner Sect Disciples over thousands of years, how many have become a Three Talents Ancestor?

If you truly choose the Heart Dream Path, it’s entirely possible you could cultivate for hundreds of years only for it to all come to nothing.”

”I understand your teachings, Young Master. I have made this decision after careful consideration,” Wang Qian replied, her face expressionless.

Zhang Deming looked at Wang Qian and said, ”Fine. You’re the one choosing this path, so you’ll be the one to bear the hardships that come with it.”

With that, Zhang Deming flipped his hand over, revealing a few beads. ”When I was lecturing you before, I had a feeling you would choose this path. Take these three Spirit Nurturing Beads as your entry-level reward.

I need to return to the Sect in a bit. You’ll need to attend the urgent training for Children these next few days to see if you can serve as a Child Attendant at the exchange conference.”

Wang Qian bowed. ”I will follow your instructions, Young Master.”

Zhang Deming nodded. After making a few more arrangements, he left Pann City with Wang Qian, heading for the Teleportation Gate.

······

When they arrived at the entrance to Pann Town, the place had changed dramatically. Because there was a One-Star Spirit Vein here, and because the original owners had been completely wiped out, the Sect had assigned a peripheral Tai Chi Family to take over.

This disaster had its pros and cons for the Celestial Spirit Sect. The downside was the considerable damage; the resource network built over hundreds of years had suffered significant losses, especially among the lower-level resource families.

But the benefits were also apparent. Many Sect Families had been annihilated, and while they hadn’t left many resources behind, their territories remained.

This event had, in effect, further helped the Sect consolidate its control. Although the resource network was damaged, one could predict an explosive wave of development in the coming decades.

After more than half a month of work, the area was transformed. A magnificent Teleportation Hall had even been built where the Teleportation Gate stood.

Well, magnificent for a place like this.

For this purpose, the Array Department had even established a special branch—the Teleportation Department!

This showed how much importance the Sect placed on the matter, so it was no surprise they could get all this done in such a short time.

Zhang Deming was practically a regular by now. He walked into the hall and passed through the Teleportation Gate without any obstruction.

Meanwhile, the Geng Metal Secret Realm had also undergone a major transformation. The most eye-catching change was on the eastern side of the Secret Realm, where the entire spatial wall flickered intermittently with silver light. Numerous disciples from the Array Department were busy there day and night.

They were linking the Secret Realms!

The Sect had already moved the Secret Realm’s core back and was now in the process of re-fusing it with the Geng Metal Secret Realm. As for the buildings within the Secret Realm, most of them remained as they were.

However, they had been completely looted and were now being reorganized by the Resources Department.

Zhang Deming led Wang Qian through the Secret Realm, arrived at Light Gate Number Three, and they dove straight in.

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The Teleportation Gate on the Sect’s side was located in the back mountains, in the direction of Celestial Spirit City. It was originally situated on a very inconspicuous little hill.