The Programmer Cultivator

"Senior Brother... are you the fool, or am I?"

Gan Zili paused for a moment. "All I could see was the Enlightenment Dao," he said. "I didn’t notice anything else."

Yuee Mengsheng was also frowning, staring blankly at Pei Xiaoxiao in the sky. Hearing Gan Zili, he interjected, "There seemed to be remnants of the power of Blessed Fortune, but I noticed too late to get a clear look."

"Blessed Fortune?" Guk Liancai chimed in. "Junior Brother Zhang brought this girl into the Sect, didn’t he? Don’t tell me she’s also a Reincarnator—his Dao Companion from a past life?"

Gan Zili faltered, glancing at Yuee Mengsheng’s impassive face before replying, "You know, that’s actually a real possibility."

Yuee Mengsheng shook his head, his brow slightly furrowed. "Six Paths Reincarnation is a Recovery Technique. That girl was clearly going through Foundation Establishment, forming her Rune Core, and making the First Transition to reach Duality.

"Everything she experienced was characteristic of a sudden surge in Cultivation during an epiphany. It couldn’t possibly be the power restoration from Six Paths Reincarnation."

Guk Liancai looked bewildered. "Then what do you think it is, Senior Brother? You can’t possibly believe this was just an epiphany, can you?

"With a Spirit Root of only thirty or forty points, what kind of epiphany could take someone straight to Duality? And look at her Technique! She broke through to the Extreme Dao relying solely on a Basic Knife Technique fused with an Agility Technique.

"She even made the Law Level leap beyond Extreme Tier Four, the most difficult step on the Extreme Dao. You call that an epiphany? All the commotions Ling’er has caused over the years put together aren’t as outrageous as this!"

Gan Zili’s brow was also furrowed. A Spiritual Light flared in his eyes for a long while before he shook his head. "I can’t. I’m getting old. I honestly can’t see anything else at play here. It looks exactly like an epiphany."

Yuee Mengsheng gazed at Pei Xiaoxiao, who was still floating in the sky. "Maybe," he said, "it really was just a simple epiphany."

"Ha! I, for one, refuse to believe that nonsense. How could something so good be possible? A thirty-seven-point Spirit Root, a single moment of insight, and bam—the Extreme Dao is achieved?

"If that’s true, how are all those Disciples in the Inner Sect, struggling just to survive in hopes of a promotion, supposed to feel?

"Forget those Disciples! If that’s the case, I’d feel like my own centuries of Cultivation have all gone to the dogs!" Guk Liancai declared.

Gan Zili shot him a look. "In that case, what did *you* manage to figure out?"

Guk Liancai shook his head. "Nothing. It was just a high-speed breakthrough on the Extreme Dao of the blade. It’s plain as day. What else is there to see?"

"You’re the one agreeing with the observation, and you’re also the one arguing against it. Whose side are you even on?" Gan Zili asked, looking at Guk Liancai.

Guk Liancai retorted, "I’m not on anyone’s side. I just think the Dao itself is very simple and easy to understand.

"But if you’re telling me, Senior Brother, that this kid figured it out all on her own, with nothing but natural talent...

"...then I, your junior brother, don’t believe a single word of it. There has to be some trick to it, something we missed or couldn’t see."

"You... you’ve argued both sides of the coin. What’s left for me to say?" Gan Zili shot Guk Liancai an exasperated look.

"Well, it’s true, isn’t it, Senior Brother Yuee?" Guk Liancai turned to Yuee Mengsheng.

"Mmm, you two continue. I’ll just watch." Not wanting to get dragged into an argument with Guk Liancai, Yuee Mengsheng responded lazily after a brief pause.

Guk Liancai was speechless. "..."

’Can you please not do this every time? It’s really frustrating!’

Seeing Guk Liancai look like he was bursting to say something but couldn’t find an opening, Gan Zili’s lips curved into a slight smile. He turned to Yuee Mengsheng and said:

"What I’d like to know is whether Junior Brother Zhang, who went into the mountains, brought this Disciple back by chance, or if he knew this would happen."

Yuee Mengsheng paused. "He went into the mountains? When?"

"A couple of days ago, I believe. He said he was just going for a stroll," Gan Zili replied.

"Ha! That’s even more suspicious. One moment he goes into the mountains for a ’stroll,’ the next he brings someone back to the Sect, and then the person he takes on as a Daoist Attendant suddenly has an epiphany and vaults to the Duality realm.

"A coincidence? Pure chance?

"It’s far too coincidental. If you tell me he didn’t know and just happened to bring her back by chance, I won’t believe a single word of it," Guk Liancai interjected.

"Weren’t we the ones who assigned her to be a Daoist Attendant?" Gan Zili retorted.

Guk Liancai paused, then said, "Daoist Attendant or not, it makes no difference. The point is, he only brought two people back to the Sect."

Yuee Mengsheng and Gan Zili both froze, turning in unison to stare at him. Guk Liancai paused under their gaze. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"What did you just say?" Gan Zili demanded. "Say it again!"

Guk Liancai was confused. "’Daoist Attendant or not, it makes no difference.’ What’s wrong with that? You think this incredible enlightenment happened because of her status as a Daoist Attendant? In that case, when Junior Brother Zhang gets back, maybe I’ll go become a Daoist Attendant myself."

"The next sentence!" Gan Zili said.

"’The point is, he only brought two... people... back.’" Guk Liancai trailed off mid-sentence, his eyes widening. "Senior Brothers, you’re thinking..."

Yuee Mengsheng’s eyes glinted. "What’s the status of the other Disciple?"

Gan Zili replied, "Her Spirit Root is a bit better. She was admitted directly into the Inner Sect, but she’s currently still at the Apprentice Peak."

Yuee Mengsheng paused for a moment. "Find an opportunity to ’plant a Dao’ in her. If she also has a breakthrough like today’s, we can investigate the cause. An Enlightenment Dao that leads straight to Duality is worth the risk.

"Even if Junior Brother Zhang finds out, I doubt he’d fall out with us over something so minor. At worst, it might create a rift between us, but we can just find a way to compensate him for it later.