The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 304 - 26: Awakening Skill

Gan Zili said with a wry smile, "He probably saw that we’ve both succeeded with a few, while he not only failed to get a single one but even blew up a whole patch. I guess he’s feeling embarrassed and getting impatient."

"Yesterday, he was still using one sun. Today, he’s jumped straight to three blazing in the sky. I really don’t know what to say about him."

Yuee Mengsheng also shook his head and said, "If he keeps messing around like this, he’s going to ruin this whole Flower Sea."

As they spoke, Gan Zili didn’t stop flying. Soon, the three of them could see a figure in the distance.

"BANG..."

Before they even arrived, the three of them saw the sky fill with exploding red specks of light, scattering in every direction.

The explosion was at least three times more dramatic than the one Zhang Deming had caused earlier.

"Motherf—"

From a distance, they heard Guk Liancai’s explosive roar of fury. Behind him, his lone Child trembled, doing his best to make himself invisible.

Zhang Deming even sensed a familiar, smoke-like fluctuation. The Child, just like him, had cultivated the easily overlooked Hidden Breath Skill and was now channeling the Technique with all his might.

The boy, who was about ten years old, trembled as he watched the furious Guk Liancai, not daring to move an inch. He had delicate, doll-like features and should have been an adorable little boy, but now he was a truly heart-wrenching sight.

Furthermore, he was the only one behind Guk Liancai. He had probably drawn the short straw and been forced into this assignment.

This stood in stark contrast to Yuee Mengsheng and Gan Zili, who both had a full retinue of four Children.

At first glance, one might think the Spirit Nurturing Peak was mistreating its Third Peak Master, unable to even provide him with a full staff of Children.

But if you knew the real reason, you would realize that the Spirit Nurturing Peak really *was* short-changing him—because they truly couldn’t find anyone for the job!

If Yuee Mengsheng or Gan Zili wanted Children, they would only have to say the word. Forget our own peak; families from the Main Peak like the Dang, Yang, Zhou, and Fanx would be tripping over themselves to send someone.

And they would send their most treasured children, at that.

But if the Third Peak Master, Guk Liancai, asked for any? Heh. Forget other peaks; even on our own, they’d have to draw lots just to meet the minimum requirement.

A full staff? More than required? Forget about it.

After serving as a Child under him for decades, never mind anything else, you’d definitely be berated to the point of questioning your very existence.

One slight misstep, and under his "tutelage," you might pick up his venomous tongue and explosive temper. If you lacked the Talent to become a Spirit Nurturing Master on top of that, your life would be ruined.

With the potential to ruin a person’s entire life, very few people were willing to send their precious darlings to him, even if his tutelage offered the highest chance of stumbling upon some unexpected benefit.

The three listened to the furious cursing and exchanged glances. Gan Zili hesitated for a moment before descending.

When Guk Liancai saw them, he managed to rein in his furious expression slightly. "This Cyan Wood Flower Demon’s lineage has been passed down for too long," he said. "Its Bloodline is already showing signs of trending toward the extreme of the Wood Dao."

"My Fire Skill Foundation Establishment and Sunshine Nurturing Spirit are just not compatible with it."

Yuee Mengsheng nodded. "We all know that. Don’t worry too much about it. Just take your time."

Guk Liancai’s expression softened slightly at his words. But then Gan Zili spoke up, "Junior Brother Guk, I think you should retract two of those suns for now."

"If you keep this up, I’m afraid failing to meet our quota will be the least of our problems. If you end up killing this entire Flower Sea, we’ll be completely and utterly disgraced."

"And if that happens, I’m telling you right now, I’m not going to be the one to face the music. You can go by yourself."

"Even if you piss everyone off, I’ll just hold my nose and accept it."

Guk Liancai, whose expression had just softened, immediately stiffened and was about to retort.

Yuee Mengsheng also chimed in, "Retract them. Junior Brother Zhang just got here. Don’t let him think we’re a joke."

Zhang Deming paused but remained silent, accepting the role he’d been given, which earned him a grateful glance from Gan Zili.

Guk Liancai’s lips twitched. He glanced at Zhang Deming. In the end, because they were strangers and because of Zhang Deming’s youth, he backed down.

If it had just been the three of them, the situation would likely have escalated into a technical debate where no one could convince the other, and they would have simply let the results speak for themselves.

But with Zhang Deming acting as a buffer, and with persuasion coming from his own peers, Guk Liancai stood stiffly for a moment before waving a hand at the sky.

Two of the three spinning fireballs flickered and went out.

Seeing this, Gan Zili let out a long sigh of relief. If they didn’t have enough Flower Demon Elf Spirit Awakenings, they could still blame it on contamination or a lack of time.

But if they actually killed a section of the Flower Sea *and* failed to cultivate even the minimum number of Flower Demon Elves, then the Spirit Nurturing Peak would be well and truly humiliated.

"Junior Brother Zhang just arrived today," Gan Zili suggested. "Why don’t we chat this morning, and this afternoon we can watch how our Tier Three Mastery Spirit Nurturing Master performs his ’Awakening Skill’?"

"Sounds good to me!" Guk Liancai said with a nod.

Seeing all three of them looking at him, Zhang Deming smiled faintly and said:

"Alright. But don’t expect a grand spectacle like you senior brothers. After all, with my current Cultivation, I can barely maintain a Tier Three Technique."

Gan Zili laughed. "Junior Brother Zhang, there’s no need to be so modest. A Spirit Nurturing Master’s work isn’t judged by the spectacle."

"You can cause a huge commotion, but it’s all for nothing if you fail at Spirit Nurturing. Even a minor Skill can be a Heaven-Reaching Path if it leads to success."

"After all, this isn’t Magical Combat, where a bigger spectacle gives you a natural advantage."

Zhang Deming smiled at his words. The group then flew toward a corner tower in the building complex, with Gan Zili once again leading the way.

When they arrived at the corner tower area, Zhang Deming noticed that it had changed slightly from a few days ago. The place felt a little more lived-in.

Zhang Deming made small talk with the three of them, but his mind was on his own Spirit Nurturing Technique.

’I can reference their methods at best,’ Zhang Deming thought. ’Forget learning from them; I can’t even borrow their approach.’

’When it comes right down to it, the reason is simple: I’m a true Spirit Nurturing Master. The other three, strictly speaking, are amateurs.’