The Programmer Cultivator-Chapter 104 - 98: Completion

Now that he was aware of the issue, he needed to buy a Concealing Technique. It didn’t have to be powerful; something that could hide his Cultivation to a certain degree would be enough.

He expertly navigated to the market. As he passed through the street stall area, Zhang Deming spotted Li Shifan in his usual spot.

It seemed he had been killing Demon Beasts to earn money constantly. Moreover, his entire being was becoming more and more like a drawn treasure sword. His aura had undergone a dramatic transformation since they had first met.

They exchanged greetings as he passed the other’s stall, and then Zhang Deming turned and left.

Zhang Deming went straight to the Cultivation Technique section. The money in his pocket didn’t allow for extravagance; he still had to arrange for a delivery of materials later.

Therefore, Zhang Deming didn’t even consider any Secret Level Mid Grade Tier Two Techniques. He focused his search solely on Tier One Techniques.

At his current Advanced Apprentice Cultivation, a Tier One Technique would be enough to hide his Cultivation, as long as he didn’t run into a Duality Great Cultivator’s specialized inspection.

After browsing the Technique shops for a while, he came to a reasonably decent one.

It looked like it was run by a Cultivation Family affiliated with the Sect, and it had a good amount of stock.

Zhang Deming browsed for a long time before finally settling on a Technique called the *Hidden Breath Technique*.

This was a rather popular Technique. Many aspiring assassins and the like chose it as their Entry Level Concealment Skill.

Therefore, if he learned it, the Spirit Nurturing Beads he created from it would also be quite marketable.

"Senior Brother, this Technique costs three Contribution Points in the Scripture Pavilion. Here, we sell it for two Spirit Stones.

Of course, while that’s one Spirit Stone more than at a street stall, we guarantee the quality of our Techniques.

Not only do we guarantee they are free of errors, but they can also be officially registered with the Sect. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

In other words, after you learn it, you can submit the Technique’s record normally when you apply for the Inner Sect Disciple review.

It’s not considered a private transfer of a Technique, so you won’t be asked to pay back Contribution Points as a fine or anything like that. You can rest assured on this point," the clerk explained with a smile.

This was one of the ways the Sect screwed people over.

For Basic Magic Techniques, the Sect’s control wasn’t as strict. It was permissible to copy Techniques obtained from the Scripture Pavilion and share them with each other.

As long as you could learn them, the Sect had no objections on the surface.

But when an Ordinary Disciple was being reviewed for promotion to the Inner Sect, the background check would start to settle these accounts.

’Want to enter the Inner Sect?’

After meeting the initial requirement of having an Advanced Apprentice Cultivation with Three Techniques, the next step was the Technique background check.

At this point, for any unrecorded Techniques that were privately exchanged or secretly learned—sorry, time to pay up!

And the price was far more than just three Contribution Points per Technique!

The ones sold at street stalls for one Spirit Stone also counted as private exchanges. Otherwise, how could they possibly be sold for only a third of the price, or half off?

Of course, if the Technique you bought wasn’t from the Scripture Pavilion, or if it was from a legitimate shop with the proper paperwork, that was a different story.

This was why Zhang Deming chose to buy from a shop now.

Spending one extra Spirit Stone now would save him from losing far more than three Contribution Points later.

That was worth much more than three Spirit Stones, so it wasn’t a loss.

Of course, if you wanted peace of mind after entering the Inner Sect, you couldn’t take advantage of these bargains too often. After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Within the Sect, departments clashed and factions were numerous.

And these legitimate Technique shops registered their Techniques under the names of large Noble Families affiliated with the Sect.

In other words, for the Technique you bought for two Spirit Stones that was worth three Contribution Points, the system would record it as being registered under the corresponding family’s name.

If you took advantage of these bargains too often, even if you hadn’t chosen to align with that family, you’d pretty much be branded as part of their faction by the time you entered the Inner Sect.

You would have no freedom of choice; the outcome was decided the moment you chose to take the easy way out.

Of course, doing it once or twice was no big deal.

Zhang Deming nodded and said, "I’ll take this one."

After paying for the Technique, Zhang Deming headed toward Qingyou Pool.

Looking at the white globe of light that was only half-full, he knew he’d have to wait a few days. He could only learn the new technique after two more people achieved Enlightenment Dao via his Spirit Nurturing Beads.

This incident also served as a reminder to Zhang Deming: he had to keep about two spare globes of light in reserve.

Otherwise, if something urgent came up and he had no globes to use, it would be a huge problem.

Fortunately, every successful Enlightenment Dao from his Spirit Nurturing Balls now yielded a fixed income of 0.2 Qi Fortune.

Meanwhile, sales at the shop were also very stable.

"Senior Brother, I finally found you! It’s really not easy to get a chance to see you." Just as Zhang Deming returned to the entrance of Qingyou Pool, a figure ran up to him.

Zhang Deming snapped back to his senses. He was slightly taken aback when he saw who it was and said, "Oh, it’s you. When did you get here?"

Pei Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "I arrived a few days ago. After completing the entry-level procedures, I was assigned to Little Hui Peak.

Because I study Sword Technique, I was directly assigned to the Close Combat Department.

It took me a few days, but I finally managed to find out where you were, Senior Brother, so I ran over today to see you."

The visitor was none other than Pei Xiaoxiao, the little girl from Qingshui Town.

Zhang Deming was stunned by her words. ’Such a coincidence? She was also assigned to Little Hui Peak?’

Zhang Deming smiled. "Congratulations, then. Little Hui Peak is a pretty good place in the Outer Sect. You’ve got good luck."

Pei Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Senior Brother, don’t tease me. I know you told me to list you as my recommender because you planned to help me.

If it weren’t for your recommendation, how could I have been assigned directly to Little Hui Peak? It has nothing to do with luck."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming was stunned again. ’What does this have to do with me?’

’Wait, Luh Jingsun wouldn’t be paying attention to things like this, would he?’

’He doesn’t have some kind of big data summary of my Sect profile, does he?’

’No way!’

’You’re supposed to have the ice-prince persona! Don’t be so considerate! A warm and caring personality isn’t supposed to make a cameo here.’

But no matter how he thought about it, this had to be the only explanation. Zhang Deming felt a strange sense of frustration.

’Looks like I can’t accept this little perk for recommending Outer Sect Disciples anymore. Otherwise, I’ll just be handing out benefits to others, and it’ll be a headache for Luh Jingsun, too.’

Zhang Deming chuckled, not dwelling on the topic. He asked, "You said you joined the Close Combat Department on Little Hui Peak?"

Pei Xiaoxiao nodded. Zhang Deming hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then you should be careful. Don’t let anyone else in the Close Combat Department know about our relationship."

Pei Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Zhang Deming smiled. "Because I have some significant conflicts with the people over there. You don’t need to know the details, just remember what I told you."

Pei Xiaoxiao nodded. "Oh."

Zhang Deming opened the Array. "Want to come in and sit for a while?"

Pei Xiaoxiao shook her head. "No, I can’t. I don’t have much free time. I originally came over early this morning just to chat with you.

But you happened to be out. I waited for you for half the day, and now I really have to go back. Next time!"

Zhang Deming nodded. "Alright, then. We’ll talk again next time you’re free."

The two chatted briefly, and then Pei Xiaoxiao left.

Zhang Deming entered Qingyou Pool. He still had ten units of materials left for the Spirit Water Technique’s Spirit Nurturing Beads. If he didn’t grind, it would take about two days to process them normally.

Zhang Deming contacted Qin Shizhong again, ordered another twenty Spirit Stones’ worth of materials, and settled the payment for the last shipment.

His thirty Spirit Stones instantly shrank to twelve.

The good news, however, was that his Spirit Stone reserves were starting to grow, and he now had some liquid capital.

This was the benefit of establishing a supply chain. Once the extra Spirit Nurturing Beads from this batch were sold, his days of pinching pennies would be completely over.

After a few more cycles, he could start consuming ten Spirit Stones per day. Of course, he might start with a little less.

After all, with five hours of high-intensity crafting a day, he could only earn about ten or so Spirit Stones.

He needed to accumulate more Spirit Stones before he could begin a stable Cultivation routine.

In any case, his Cultivation was now on the right track.

It was time to start worrying about resources for promotion and the matter of Contribution Points.

...

「Several days later.」

Zhang Deming rushed to produce another batch of Spirit Nurturing Beads. He also used ten units of One-Star materials to create two Tier Two Spirit Nurturing Beads for the Spirit Water Technique.

Including the one left over from before, that made three.

These three Mastery Level Spirit Nurturing Beads would serve as a bargaining chip to attract a large number of customers, but they would also draw some unwanted attention.

Carrying about twenty Spirit Nurturing Beads, Zhang Deming once again made his way to Celestial Spirit City.