The Programmer Cultivator

Yang Hongjun looked at Zhang Deming and said, ”Master Zhang, I am Yang Hongjun, a Disciple from the Artifact Refining Pavilion. I’m in charge of fine-tuning your Dharma Robe.”

”Originally, we at the Artifact Refining Pavilion were scheduled to meet with you first, Master Zhang. The Shadow Ceremony Department was supposed to be after us, and they were only allotted half a day.”

”But I never expected that scoundrel to just hijack you and take you to the Shadow Ceremony Department, holding you up for an entire day! He even took it upon himself to block us from contacting you, passing off his own words as your orders.”

”He claimed that you, Master Zhang, considered the Liuying session of utmost importance and that he couldn’t stop until he had a recording that met your standards.”

”The Liuying tradition has been around for millennia; it’s always the same song and dance. With time being so tight, he still delayed you for this long. Master Zhang, tell me, doesn’t he deserve to be punished for this?”

Zhang Deming stiffened slightly. ’Although I didn’t say those exact words, what Fang Bai said wasn’t a complete lie... I really was quite particular about it earlier.’

He paused, shooting Fang Bai a meaningful glance. ’No wonder he was so insistent on getting my opinion on the Liuying earlier. So this is what he was planning! This guy isn’t as magnanimous as he seems.’

After a moment, he said, ”Alright, alright. Isn’t time of the essence? I’ll go with you. If you want to give him a hard time, do it on your own after we’re finished. Don’t drag me into it.”

”Of course, Master Zhang. Let’s head to the Magic Robe Department right away.” Hearing this, Yang Hongjun immediately started pulling Zhang Deming along, his urgency palpable.

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”Master Zhang, I’m from the Crown Ceremony Department! Please, Master Zhang, have a heart and help a disciple out! Come to our department first!”

”Master Zhang, I’m from the Ritual Department...”

”Master Zhang...”

”Master Zhang...”

The two of them had just stepped out of the pavilion when they both froze. Staring at the crowd of Disciples outside, they were completely at a loss.

Zhang Deming stood rigid for a long moment, surrounded by a throng of Disciples. Their incessant chatter gave him a headache. In their desperation to complete their tasks, they seemed to have forgotten all sense of propriety, crowding in front of him to the point where they were about to start physically pulling him.

And from the looks of it, if this dragged on any longer, they might actually start fighting over him.

”STOP!!!”

Zhang Deming bellowed, unleashing a powerful pulse of Spiritual Power. The surrounding Disciples all flinched and fell silent, their eyes fixed on him.

Zhang Deming tilted his head to look at Yang Hongjun. ”Do all the Peak Masters who attend the exchange conference get put through the wringer like this?”

Yang Hongjun gave a wry smile. ”It’s not just because of the exchange conference. It’s because Spirit Nurturing Peak and the other peaks all agreed that you, Master Zhang, should attend the conference in the official capacity of a Peak Master.”

”Any other Peak Master could just attend as they pleased, whether casually or with great ceremony. But since you haven’t been formally instated yet, Master Zhang, the Sect feels the need to ensure your presentation meets the proper standards.”

”So, it’s basically like they’ve taken your entire Promotion Ceremony and crammed it into the preparations for this event, expecting us Disciples to pull it all together in just three days.”

”We Disciples are really in a tough spot...”

”A Promotion Ceremony is supposed to be prepared six months in advance, with over a month dedicated to fine-tuning! But for your situation, Master Zhang, the first whispers only started a month ago, and we were only tasked with it two weeks ago.”

”Then yesterday, the order came down, giving us just three days for the final adjustments. A whole day has already been wasted, so now we only have two left.”

”Even if we don’t have to put on the full ceremony, the rituals, standards, and traditional preparations all take a huge amount of time. It’s an absolutely frantic, ’eyebrows-on-fire’ emergency now. That’s why every department is completely seeing red with anxiety.”

”After all, if you lose face at the conference, or if we fail to give you the proper prestige, Master Zhang, the supervisors in charge of each department—us—will undoubtedly be making a trip to Wanghui Peak!”

”So, I’m supposed to attend the exchange conference with all the formalities of a Promotion Ceremony?” Zhang Deming asked.

Yang Hongjun nodded. ”That’s about the gist of it. After all, you haven’t actually had your Promotion Ceremony yet, Master Zhang. We can’t have outsiders looking down on you, and we need to make sure your status is properly displayed.”

Zhang Deming: ”...”

’What is this? A dress rehearsal for my Promotion Ceremony?’

Zhang Deming mulled it over for a moment, then nodded. ”Fine. Let’s do it. I’ll let you all have your way with me.”

As he finished speaking, he saw the Disciples staring at him like a pack of hungry wolves, ready to pounce. Zhang Deming quickly added, ”One hour for each department! We’ll stick to the original schedule.”

”How can you do that? The Ritual Department needs a lot of time! One hour is nowhere near enough!”

”We...”

Zhang Deming looked at the first person who spoke and said immediately, ”Your department can switch places. You’re going last.”

The Disciple’s face froze, then instantly flushed bright red. The other Disciples who had been about to speak immediately clamped their mouths shut.

”Does anyone else have a problem?” Zhang Deming asked, surveying the crowd.

Everyone shook their heads in unison. Seeing this, Zhang Deming nodded. ”Then, who’s first?”

”Me! Me! Master Zhang, the Crown Ceremony is first! The head and face are the most important things, and we’re the quickest!” a Disciple immediately stepped forward to say.

”Fine. I’ll go with you. Do with me as you will.”

The Disciple’s face lit up. It was the first time he’d ever met a Master who spoke so frankly. He’d even accept having less time now. Besides, the Crown Ceremony Department didn’t need much time to begin with.

As Zhang Deming left, the crowd of Disciples followed, watching eagerly. Every one of them was helping the Crown Ceremony Department keep time, ensuring their Master wouldn’t be hidden away again.

·······

In the blink of an eye, only Yang Hongjun was left standing stiffly in place, his expression terrible.

Fang Bai had muddied the waters, claiming Zhang Deming was obsessed with the Liuying and wouldn’t be done until he was satisfied. While that wasn’t entirely untrue, it was only because Zhang Deming hadn’t been aware of the absolute chaos that was waiting for him.