The Programmer Cultivator

Zhang Deming nodded. ”Alright. If there’s nothing else, you’re dismissed.”

Qin Shizhong bowed again, then turned and left.

······

The tier and grade of a Spirit Nurturing Bead made by a Spirit Nurturing Master are limited by two factors.

One is the tier and grade of the Spirit Nurturing Technique, and the other is the tier and grade of the corresponding technique.

What does this mean?

For example, to create a Tier Two Spirit Nurturing Bead, not only must you learn a Tier Two Technique, but your Spirit Nurturing Technique must also be developed to Tier Two.

Otherwise, trying to use a Tier One Spirit Nurturing Technique to create a bead for a Tier Two Technique will cause the already low success rate to plummet, making it a matter of pure luck.

By the same token, if you develop your Spirit Nurturing Technique to Tier Two but don’t know any Tier Two Techniques, you still won’t be able to create a Tier Two Spirit Nurturing Bead.

The same applies to the grade. A Spirit Nurturing Bead’s grade corresponds to the level of mastery over the technique, which is divided into three levels.

Entry-level Proficiency, Control, and Mastery.

Thus, if you want to create a Tier Two Spirit Nurturing Bead of the Mastery grade, not only must your cultivation of the Tier Two Technique reach the Mastery Level, but you must also develop your Spirit Nurturing Technique to the Tier Two Mastery Level.

If your Tier Two Technique is at the Mastery Level, but your Spirit Nurturing Technique has not reached Tier Two Mastery—perhaps only reaching the Proficient or Control level—then the resulting Spirit Nurturing Bead may have flaws. The finished product might only be of the Proficient or Control grade. Of course, this is based on probability; a drop in grade is not guaranteed.

Furthermore, even if both the base technique and the Spirit Nurturing Technique are at the Mastery Level, the finished Spirit Nurturing Bead is still not guaranteed to be of Mastery grade. This is unless you can imbue the insights without a single shred of personal bias.

This is why Mastery-grade Spirit Nurturing Masters are so rare, and Mastery-grade Spirit Nurturing Beads are so precious.

This is because there is a crucial condition for a skill to reach Mastery: for a Tier Two Technique to reach Mastery, its Tier One version must have been mastered before the advancement.

If you advance without having first achieved Mastery, you will forever be unable to reach Mastery at Tier Two.

Zhang Deming took the materials and returned to the third floor. His Spirit Nurturing Technique was currently a Rune Core, and it was at Tier Three. The corresponding technique was also at the Tier Three Mastery Level. Moreover, it was currently automated, and the insights were the ’standard version’.

With all these advantages, it wasn’t actually that difficult for him to create Tier Three Mastery-grade Spirit Nurturing Beads.

It was just a bit time-consuming. Creating a single Tier Three Spirit Nurturing Pearl required about a full hour of Spirit Nurturing.

Without raising the level of his Spirit Nurturing Technique, it would be difficult to shorten this process.

As for Spiritual Power consumption, with a Tier Six Cultivation Technique and the passive regeneration from his Three-Star High-Grade Cave Mansion, it was no longer much of a constraint—at least for anything below Tier Three.

Zhang Deming could complete a Tier One Spirit Nurturing Bead in three to five minutes. He could work on them all day with no net loss of Spiritual Power.

In other words, if Zhang Deming decided to be a hardcore grinder, with his success rate, he could churn out eighty or ninety of them in a single day.

Thus, it only took Zhang Deming a leisurely three to five days to create the required set: five of each of the seven types of Spirit Nurturing Beads.

The main reason it took that long was the Tier Three set, for which Zhang Deming also made fifteen. Normally, the agreement for a Glove Bead set would only require enough of the top-grade beads to ensure the user learns the technique—typically three to five.

Only for the Rune Core had the client specifically requested fifteen, enough to raise his proficiency to the Control level.

If this were just business, Zhang Deming would naturally have followed market customs and focused on minimizing costs.

But he wasn’t just doing this for business; he was also testing his returns, especially when it came to Merit. ’So, I might as well invest a little extra!’

Zhang Deming looked at the dozens of Spirit Nurturing Beads before him. As his first custom Glove Bead set, they were more than acceptable.

The Yin Yang Extreme Path Pearls were somewhat different from ordinary Spirit Nurturing Beads. These beads weren’t simple, transparent glass spheres.

Inside these glass spheres, in addition to the clear runes, there was a faint image of a Yin Yang Fish in the background—so faint you wouldn’t notice it unless you were looking closely.

······

「The next day.」

After finishing his daily exercises, Zhang Deming got himself ready and left the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower.

He returned to Celestial Spirit City. This time, because of the contract between them, Zhang Deming didn’t arrange to meet at the Jade Delicacy Tower.

Instead, he casually picked a teahouse, reserved a private room, and took out his Communication Card to send a message.

He received a reply a moment later. ’It seems Tong Hou hasn’t left Celestial Spirit City and has been waiting this whole time.’

After receiving the reply, Zhang Deming waited quietly for a short while before Tong Hou arrived.

Bound by the Four-Star Contract, Tong Hou was completely different from the last time they met. Though still wary, he had lost that hair-trigger tension, as if he might explode at the slightest provocation.

”Senior!” Tong Hou said, looking at Zhang Deming and bowing respectfully.

Zhang Deming didn’t stand on ceremony. He glanced at the other man, tossed over a prepared list, and said, ”Take a look. This is the Glove Bead set I’ve prepared for you. See if there’s anything you’re unhappy with.”

Tong Hou took the list and began to read.

It listed seven techniques, along with detailed descriptions for each one.

Even as an initiate of the Yin Yang Chess Dao, he discovered he didn’t recognize all of the techniques. A few of them seemed to be entirely new magic. The more he read, the more delighted he became.

’No wonder Spirit Nurturing Masters hold such a high status,’ he thought. ’With skills like these, they’ve certainly earned it.’

When Zhang Deming saw that Tong Hou had been reading for a long time without a word, he asked, ”Well? Is there anything you’re not satisfied with?”

Tong Hou snapped out of his reverie at the question and shook his head. ”This is perfect. I’m extremely satisfied with this Glove Bead set. If I may ask, Senior, when can you make the delivery?”