The Programmer Cultivator

”It’s fine to bring her to the assembly the day after tomorrow, but don’t keep her right by your side. There will be too many watchful eyes! If anything goes wrong, it won’t be good for anyone.”

”Once she’s properly trained, you can switch back whenever you like. Besides, for this selection of Children, Martial Uncle, you should pick a few more. Don’t just focus on a couple. Give the disciples of our peak more opportunities!”

”And speaking of closeness, having both close and distant relations is what makes that closeness apparent. If you select a few to keep near and a few more to run errands, wouldn’t that better demonstrate the distinction between them?”

Zhang Deming: ”...”

’To think he’d say all this right in front of the Children,’ Zhang Deming thought. ’He’s so desperate to place his people that he’s thrown all propriety to the wind.’

”Fine! I’ll pick three more. That’ll make two pairs,” Zhang Deming said.

A smile spread across Song Huidong’s face. ”Then on their behalf, this disciple thanks you, Martial Uncle.”

Zhang Deming looked up and saw twenty children, all exceptionally cute, like little porcelain dolls.

Some were timid, their heads bowed, hands clasped tightly in extreme nervousness.

Others stood with their hands behind their backs, their faces serious as they feigned maturity.

And still others looked at Zhang Deming with expressions of hope and anticipation.

...

After sizing them all up, Zhang Deming saw there were thirteen girls and seven boys in total.

Zhang Deming mulled it over for a moment, then chose two cute-looking boys and one delicate-looking girl. Along with Wang Qian, that made for exactly two boys and two girls.

This way, with a mix of boys and girls serving him, there wouldn’t be any inconveniences.

”And the rest of them...” Song Huidong began hesitantly after Zhang Deming had made his selection.

Zhang Deming chuckled. ”What, were you really planning to fill my Flying Spring Waterfall Tower to the brim with people all at once?”

Song Huidong nodded earnestly. ”If it were possible, this disciple truly would. That way, we wouldn’t have to worry about the other peaks constantly eyeing this place.”

Zhang Deming shook his head, speechless. The two of them chatted idly for a bit longer.

A moment later, Song Huidong stood up. ”Well, this disciple will take his leave with the others. The assembly is the day after tomorrow, and things are quite busy on my end.”

Zhang Deming nodded, then turned his head to look at Wang Qian. ”You go with them, too. Follow along and learn well, and try to come back soon.”

”Understood, Martial Uncle!” Wang Qian replied respectfully, her face expressionless.

With that, Song Huidong and his group rose and departed.

Zhang Deming looked at the three remaining Children. They were excited and nervous, doing their best to contain their emotions. Though they were clever, they were still just children, after all.

”For now, you’ll live at the cliff’s entrance. Go find Yang Changfu; he’ll arrange your accommodations,” Zhang Deming said.

”Then, Martial Uncle, what will our daily service schedule be?” asked one of the three, a little boy who was trying hard to act mature, his voice still holding its childish lilt.

Zhang Deming paused at the question, glanced at the boy, and said, ”We’ll discuss that later. I don’t need you to serve me for now. As for the assembly the day after tomorrow, we’ll see when the time comes.”

’I knew what he was asking. It was one thing for me to use them as child attendants, but I could never do as Song Huidong suggested—create a clear distinction of favoritism just to give some of them a sense of superiority.’

’Children who grow up in an environment like that, no matter how sensible they are, will inevitably harbor resentment. In my personal philosophy, I don’t want something like that to happen.’

Hearing this, the three Children’s excitement faltered, and their spirits dimmed considerably.

Zhang Deming watched them leave, then with a wave of his hand, put away the tea set. He went up to the third floor and stood silently for a long time, looking at his Main Body lying on the bed.

A doppelgänger, identical in every way, staring at its original. The scene was utterly bizarre.

After a long while, Zhang Deming lay down, and the Main Body opened its eyes.

Just a trip out to pick someone up had led to all this drama. He was finally back in the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower. After living here for several years, the place had given Zhang Deming a faint sense of security.

He sat in silence in the Cultivation Room for a long time, his thoughts scattering in all directions. After a good while, his weary Heart Spirit finally felt somewhat better.

He opened the editing panel and first looked at his inventory. Merit: 23.5, Qi Fortune: 171.7, Karma: 8.6.

In the past month of governing the Mortals, his Merit had increased by five points. While that wasn’t a small amount, it paled in comparison to his Qi Fortune.

His Qi Fortune had increased by a full one hundred and seventy, and it was still growing rapidly. Once the Mortal societal structure was fully established, he estimated he would receive about two hundred in total.

And this was only the initial influx. As long as the structure he had built for the Mortals existed, his Qi Fortune would continue to increase day by day.

Of course, it wouldn’t be as dramatic as this initial surge, but it was a stable source of income outside of his shop. It was just an income that didn’t come with much accompanying Merit.

Besides Qi Fortune and Merit, even his Karma had inexplicably risen by 0.2. He didn’t know why, but it definitely wasn’t a bad thing. Aside from Energy, his biggest gain was in Experience Points.

Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Secret Scripture: Fragment (Pseudo-Seven Tier)

Cultivation: Duality Lv1 (4,000,000/4,000,000)

Rune Core: [Omitted]...

Branch Rune: [Omitted]...

Skill: [Omitted]...

Spiritual Power Recovery: 350 Spiritual Power / 1 minute

Experience Growth: 35 Experience / 1 minute

Spirit Root: Lv22 (0/20) [Merit]

That’s right, he was about to advance!

Zhang Deming’s current normal absorption rate was over fifty thousand Experience Points per day. As long as he had enough Spirit Stones, he could gain fifty thousand every day.

However, the Spiritual Power from Spirit Crystals was extremely abundant and pure. Especially when using several Spirit Crystals at once while the Cultivation Technique Script was running, Spiritual Power practically flooded into his body, and his Experience Points gain far exceeded the normal rate.

In nearly a month, Zhang Deming had consumed over thirty Spirit Crystals. His Cultivation had already reached a state where his Spiritual Power for the Duality First Transition was overflowing. All that was left was to choose his advancement path for the Second Transition.