The Programmer Cultivator

A moment later, Qin Shizhong hurried in, bowed to Zhang Deming, and asked, ”Martial Uncle, what are your orders?”

”How are things being handled in the mortal world?” Zhang Deming asked.

Qin Shizhong replied, ”Most of it has been dealt with. Now we just need to fill in the details, which will take a considerable amount of time.

The grand conference is imminent. Thanks to the many Teleportation Gates, it wasn’t until this morning that the other disciples—aside from those assigned to stay behind—finally started to return. After the conference, they will get back to their duties immediately.”

Perhaps fearing blame from Zhang Deming, he paused before adding, ”This conference is a grand event, the likes of which is seen only once in centuries. The disciples are eager to attend, and the Sect has even required all Inner Sect Disciples to participate if possible. Even many Outer Disciples will be there.

Therefore, after receiving requests from numerous disciples, I decided to approve them all. I’ve temporarily reassigned some of the Outer Disciples who aren’t eligible to attend to stand guard in their place.”

Having said his piece, Qin Shizhong looked at Zhang Deming with some apprehension.

Zhang Deming shook his head, glanced at Qin Shizhong, and said, ”Why are you looking at me like that? Since I entrusted this matter to you, I’m not going to interfere too much. And it’s not like you even made a mistake.

Even if you did make a small error, I’d cover for you. Otherwise, what would be the point of you calling me Martial Uncle? Would your visit to the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower have been in vain?”

Qin Shizhong breathed a sigh of relief at his words and even felt a little touched.

”So, Martial Uncle, was there a reason you summoned me?” Qin Shizhong asked.

Before Zhang Deming could reply, a dome of light suddenly enveloped the entire Celestial Spirit Sect, causing both men to freeze in surprise.

’Is this... the Sect Protection Array? But the conference isn’t for more than a day. Why is it activating so early?’

As Qin Shizhong stared at the hemispherical canopy covering the Sect, his expression shifted rapidly while thoughts raced through his mind. Zhang Deming’s expression, however, merely twitched.

The canopy shimmered for a moment. After it stabilized, the entire hemisphere turned pitch-black. The darkness plunged the entire Celestial Spirit Sect into what felt like a bottomless abyss.

HUUFF... UUNH...

HUUFF... UUNH...

HUUFF... UUNH...

The strange, rapid panting sounds echoing from the dark canopy left the disciples of the Celestial Spirit Sect completely dumbfounded, while the visiting Cultivators from other sects wore equally bizarre expressions.

The tension from the sudden event gave way to stiff expressions and twitching lips.

A single thought popped into many minds: ’Did a disciple in the Celestial Spirit Sect’s core Array Room accidentally trigger the Sect Protection Array’s main controls while... getting busy?’

On Spirit Nurturing Peak, the three elders and their attendants had gathered long ago to watch the canopy. Faced with this development, the disciples all wore strange expressions, their eyes flickering as they glanced at their three masters.

Yue Mengsheng kept his head raised calmly, Gan Zili was the picture of embarrassment, but Guk Liancai wasn’t watching the canopy at all. Instead, his eyes glowed with a red light as he intently observed the reactions of the Sect Disciples.

The intensely rhythmic panting went on for a long time. Below, many Cultivators listened on, a bizarre mood settling over them. The entire Celestial Spirit Sect was caught in a moment of extreme weirdness.

BOOM—

A clap of thunder scared many people half to death, especially the Low-Tier Disciples. After the thunderclap, lightning flashed, and an image began to form.

”Holy shit!”

”Damn it, and here I thought something had gone wrong! Turns out it’s just a Sect-wide Liuying projection announcement!”

”Heh heh, I bet you were hoping to hear—or see—something else, weren’t you!”

”Holy hell, which senior brother from the Array Department is responsible for this? What a genius! Talk about a bait and switch!”

”What’s wrong with you? What does your dirty mind have to do with someone’s Liuying projection?”

”Excuse me, Senior Brother, but what’s a Sect-wide Liuying projection announcement?”

”...”

The explosive chatter lasted for a moment before dying down, as everyone became captivated by the story unfolding on the light curtain.

In the Hongmeng Realm, a world sorely lacking in cinematic entertainment, a Liuying projection like this was more than enough to capture the disciples’ full attention.

After a long while, once the Liuying projection of Zhang Deming’s announcement concluded on the canopy, a notification for the projection automatically popped up on every disciple’s identification Array Card, allowing them to rewatch it anytime in the near future.

After a brief silence, the disciples of the Celestial Spirit Sect erupted in an uproar.

”Holy shit, is this for real, or is this all just a bunch of bull?”

”So that’s how Senior Sister Pei, the one everyone was talking about, joined the Sect and reached the Enlightenment Dao? For real?”

”Holy shit! The Sect has a fourth Spirit Nurturing Master?”

”Uh, Senior Brother, what’s a Spirit Nurturing Master? And why did that senior sister jump directly from being an Apprentice to the Duality stage?”

”By the way, this is a Peak Master promotion announcement, right?”

”Yeah, it has to be!”

”So that means this can’t be fake, and they’re not just blowing smoke, right?”

”This Peak Master announcement really dropped a bombshell!”

”With the conference so close, Spirit Nurturing Peak is really making the Sect proud!”

”Has no one noticed how handsome Peak Master Zhang is?!”

”Whoever made this announcement, it’s way more interesting than they used to be!”

”...”

The entire Celestial Spirit Sect was buzzing. Everywhere, the topic of conversation briefly shifted from the upcoming conference to the newly promoted Peak Master of Spirit Nurturing Peak: Zhang Deming.

Back on Spirit Nurturing Peak, Gan Zili, having watched the spectacle with his attendants, was about to slip away. But when he turned, he discovered that the crowd of disciples was staring at the three elders, their eyes shining with an unusual brightness.

Their gazes were like those of starving wolves that had just spotted fresh meat, gleaming with hunger. It was as if the disciples saw these three old men as the very embodiment of the opportunity Zhang Deming had represented in the Liuying projection.