The Programmer Cultivator

Countless points of light began to gather around him. He paused, watching the sight. As he did, the innumerable Spiritual Power Light Points had already coalesced into the aged figure of a man with white hair and a white beard, exuding an ethereal, sagely air.

The figure was illusory, like a holographic projection.

Dang Mengfu looked at the figure and immediately bowed respectfully. "Pavilion Master, what brings you here? Is it because of some anomaly inside?"

He then glanced into the main hall with a frown. The scene within was unchanged—Magic Scriptures still danced through the air.

The ethereal, white-haired Zhao Yuan looked at Dang Mengfu and said, "Just watch for now. Don’t be hasty. I’m going to review past footage from the other branch pavilions and take a closer look before we decide anything.

"He’s provided us with so much of the Daoist Collection, after all. Let’s not have some ridiculous misunderstanding. If he finds out we’re watching him, it’ll be awkward for everyone.

"Besides, your second grand-uncle is quite taken with this person. He hasn’t stopped nagging me about him these past few days—it’s been a real headache. It seems this boy might be able to treat that old injury of the Fanx Family’s."

Dang Mengfu froze for a moment, then looked up at the ethereal old man. "Pavilion Master, you mean you can’t figure out what’s going on either?"

The old man, Zhao Yuan, shook his head. "It looks like he’s just browsing, but... this method... If he were choosing a Technique, even at a branch pavilion, fine. But here at the Main Pavilion, the catalog alone is enough for a preliminary screening.

"To not even make a preliminary selection when he has access to the catalog, and instead flip through them one by one like this... aside from some bizarre quirk, there has to be a reason."

Hearing this, Dang Mengfu turned to look at the main hall. His brow furrowed as he watched the endlessly flying Magic Scriptures and the figure at their center, flipping through them without pause.

’I have a pretty good impression of Zhang Deming. Plus, with the clan’s instructions and the recent additions to our Daoist Collection thanks to him, I really don’t want to discover he’s using some unorthodox means to target the Main Pavilion’s collection.’

’Making a significant contribution is one thing, but having designs on this place is another entirely. This place is fundamental to the Sect; some things are simply off-limits.’

As Dang Mengfu was lost in thought, an illusory book materialized in front of the ethereal elder, Zhao Yuan.

"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the common people, to carry on the lost teachings of past sages, and to bring peace to all future generations!"

As the book opened, a verse drifted out, seeming to echo with the voices of countless people reciting it across the long ages.

The ethereal elder, Zhao Yuan, tapped the open book lightly, and it immediately projected the image of a pavilion.

At first, it was a distant, bird’s-eye view. As the image appeared, the perspective rapidly zoomed in, and the pavilion grew clearer. It was, unmistakably, the Scripture Pavilion at the Outer Sect Headquarters.

Once the view drew close enough, the image abruptly changed, shifting to the scene inside the pavilion.

As the elder Zhao Yuan manipulated the projection, a book-shaped Magical Artifact on the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion at the Outer Sect Headquarters, which monitored the entire building, began to flicker with Spiritual Light. The entire Scripture Pavilion’s Array rippled slightly.

Inside the Scripture Pavilion at the Outer Sect Headquarters, the Guardian Towers were all taken aback. They all subconsciously looked up toward the ceiling.

Even at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion, the ultimate slacker, Jiang Hongbin, who was on guard duty, stopped what he was doing. He looked up at the ceiling, carefully trying to sense something.

Then, as the ethereal elder Zhao Yuan channeled his Spiritual Power, the illusory book suddenly trembled and connected with the book-shaped monitoring Magical Artifact in the Outer Sect’s Scripture Pavilion.

Immediately after, the scene of the pavilion’s interior displayed in the illusory book began to change rapidly. The entire image seemed to be fast-forwarding in reverse, constantly rewinding.

One day, two days, a week, a year...

When the book in front of the elder located the aura of Zhang Deming’s first appearance in the footage, it trembled slightly, and the image froze.

The image showed the very first time Zhang Deming and Zong En had visited the Scripture Pavilion.

Zhao Yuan stopped his manipulations once he found the right scene. Beside him, Dang Mengfu, who had been watching the whole time, instantly perked up.

And so, the two of them quietly watched the scene as Zhang Deming and Zong En entered the Scripture Pavilion and began to select their Techniques. After only a moment, both Zhao Yuan and Dang Mengfu froze.

Because in the footage, Zhang Deming had begun to flip through books nonstop. The motion was all too familiar to them. Wasn’t the present-day Zhang Deming going through the exact same motions?

In fact, the Zhang Deming in the footage was even more methodical than he was now. He would swiftly grab a book, flip it open, and put it down, his movements as smooth as flowing water, utterly efficient.

He only flipped through each book once. Compared to his current actions, he was unbelievably fast. The two could clearly sense that the Zhang Deming in the footage had a clear, distinct goal and wasn’t trying to hide anything.

At least, compared to his current feigned browsing, the purpose of the Zhang Deming in the footage seemed much purer. He was just flipping through books, and only flipping each one once.

"This is...?" Dang Mengfu looked at the Zhang Deming in the footage, then glanced up at the ethereal elder Zhao Yuan in confusion, hesitating as he spoke.

Zhao Yuan’s brow twitched. He began manipulating the book again, working nonstop for a long time before he finally stopped.

"Pavilion Master, what is he doing?" Dang Mengfu asked, looking at Zhao Yuan who had now stopped.

Zhao Yuan shook his head, his brow deeply furrowed. "I don’t know."

"Huh...? What?" Dang Mengfu said, a look of astonishment on his face.

Zhao Yuan glanced at the astonished Dang Mengfu. "I accessed the Scripture Pavilion’s monitoring systems," he said. "I didn’t detect the slightest fluctuation in his Heart Spirit.

"And he just flipped through them like that, without even seeing the specific content. It’s obviously not for memorization.

"Then I checked the surveillance from other angles and found no evidence of any kind of recording method. I can confirm he isn’t trying to copy the Daoist Collection.

"With his level of Cultivation back then, it would have been impossible for him to be recording anything while simultaneously evading my detailed inspection with our Scripture Pavilion’s surveillance system.

"Therefore, I can be certain he is definitely not after the Daoist Collection—or at least, he isn’t trying to copy it."