Chapter 10: Crawlers - C Language Cultivation

Lin Xun, who had begun to anticipate the idea of cultivation, was no longer disheartened. He re-entered the system space, determined to discern how this space operated. First, he examined the folder containing the programs through the compiler. He thought: The light-body technique had transformed into program code and was executed within the compiler, granting him agility in real life. If he could locate this program file, read it, and comprehend its principles, perhaps he could replicate it to create other skills. However, things did not unfold as he had hoped. The folder was empty, save for the previously edited "helloworld" file and a loop program file. There was no trace of the light-body technique, putting an end to this shortcut. Lin Xun decided not to persist, directing his focus to the task interface. Based on his current understanding, tasks were categorized into mainline tasks and side quests. The mainline tasks involved leveling up in cultivation, from the Qi Refinement stage onward, offering rewards such as sect territory, sect funds, and spiritual power. He wasn't quite clear on the side quests yet, but he speculated they were related to everyday cultivation practices, akin to tasks like "joining the immortal sect", with rewards including Chaos Chests and spiritual power. What was the purpose of spiritual power, though? Did it represent his own cultivation? Probably not. When the system awarded spiritual power, he experienced no special physical response. "Hello?" Lin Xun called out, trying to inquire about this mysterious system. No answer. "Hello, are you there?" Still no response. It seemed that mechanical voice wasn't intelligent but instead required something specific to trigger it. Noting this conclusion, Lin Xun began exploring the space. He had already understood the compiler interface and the task interface; the only thing still enigmatic to him was the dim tree. He turned and approached the tree. His initial hypothesis about this tree held firm. The junction of the trunk and roots was marked "c", symbolizing other branches of programming languages atop the trunk and branches. This was a skill tree, or rather, a technology tree. There were numerous programming languages in this world, each with its own functions. C was an extremely classical one, but its status was unshakable. For example, Wang Anquan preferred Python, but what is Python built upon? C. Thus, this technology tree started with C and gradually branched upward, spawning countless offshoots—so how was he to illuminate this tree? Lin Xun conceived a thought: by using spiritual power. Perhaps by accumulating enough spiritual power, he could unlock other languages and platforms, simplifying programming significantly—while C was versatile, it was also quite cumbersome. Having explored the space thoroughly, Lin Xun felt more assured, and after glancing at the progress bar for reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, which was at 91%, he left satisfied. A new message popped up on his phone—it was from Old Man Huo. "Disciple, come to my abode before the end of Mao tomorrow. I will impart teachings to you." Lin Xun pondered the tone of the "Family Reunion" group and, after a moment's consideration, replied, "Received." However, he wasn't sure what "the end of Mao" meant, so he turned to a search engine and found out it meant he had to visit Old Man Huo before 7 AM. After putting down his phone, he bounced around the room using the light-body technique for a while, then returned to his computer. Dong Jun had explained several key points to him that night, and his programming progress was going so smoothly it became addictive; he didn't sleep until nearly 11 PM. He woke at six, washed up, noted Wang Anquan and Zhao Jiagou hadn't stirred yet—they usually woke at eight. Leaving them a message, Lin Xun wrote: "Grandpa Huo is looking for me. I'm going out, not sure when I'll be back. Hire programmers yourselves." Taking the first subway, Lin Xun reached Old Man Huo's place. A quadrangle courtyard—if this house were to be sold, it would fetch astronomical prices. Old Man Huo's wealth was indeed a stroke of fate—he supposedly inherited two estates from his ancestors: the current quadrangle and another two-entrance courtyard to the north of the city. When the country's modernization efforts commenced, the northern courtyard was caught in redevelopment, and as compensation, Old Man Huo received two apartment buildings. But the old man disliked living in apartments—eyesores, he called them. He sold those and traded them for several courtyards in the old city district. Then... those courtyards faced another wave of redevelopment. Demolished and redeveloped endlessly. With every cycle, Old Man Huo's wealth snowballed, growing to an unimaginable stature today. Lin Xun took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door was opened by a boy about eight or nine years old, likely Old Man Huo's grandson or great-grandson, who asked brightly, "Who are you?" "My name is Lin Xun, I'm looking for Grandpa Huo." "Master!" The little boy called out, "Senior Brother Lin is here!" That single "Master" promptly immersed Lin Xun into the cultivation ambiance. In the courtyard, two pomegranate trees stood. Beneath one, there was a large stone vat with cranes engraved on it. Beneath the other was a rustic stone table and chairs set, where Old Man Huo sat reading with his reading glasses on. Seeing Lin Xun, he beckoned, "Disciple, come sit." As Lin Xun approached, he noticed the large stone vat held lotus blossoms with fish swimming beneath—a gold one and a red one. This scene exuded leisure and celestial air. Yet, in this part of the city, such leisure and celestial air demanded a fortune beyond measure! Lacking such wealth, Lin Xun harbored deeper reverence for Old Man Huo. "Disciple," Old Man Huo spoke with great warmth, "come, let me assess your bones." Lin Xun stepped forward. Old Man Huo felt his shoulder, then his arm, and declared, "Not bad, not bad, our Wuji Sect has a worthy successor! In this Dao Discussion event, we shall not be overshadowed by Mount Qingcheng!" Lin Xun felt his heart race, "Master, what is the Dao Discussion event?" "Those who've accomplished their cultivation will naturally engage in discussing profound Dao theories... As for you youngsters, you will spar. Securing a top three position brings our sect great honor." At this, Old Man Huo's eyes brimmed with intensity, "In the past, Mount Qingcheng always bested us. This time, you must bring glory to the Wuji Sect!" Lin Xun responded, "...Alright." It seemed even cultivators couldn't escape the urge to compete. He added, "But Master, I don't know any martial arts." Old Man Huo replied, "That doesn't matter!" Lin Xun earnestly inquired, "Master, how so?" —He intentionally adopted a classical tone. Old Man Huo explained, "Our sect is named Wuji. Do you know what that signifies?" Lin Xun replied, "I don't." "Wuji signifies boundlessness, infinity!" Old Man Huo declared, "Disciples of the Wuji Sect are never constrained by martial arts forms!" Lin Xun asked, "Then... how do we proceed?" Old Man Huo stated, "We overwhelm others with spiritual energy!" Then he continued, "Watch closely." Lin Xun observed as Old Man Huo raised his hand, causing the branches and leaves of the pomegranate tree to sway vigorously as if caught in a gale. "This is manipulating the spiritual energy of the world." The old man retracted his hand and elaborated, "The essence of the Wuji Sect's martial arts lies in harnessing the vast spiritual energy between heaven and earth! The stronger the spiritual energy, the better—one force can overcome ten skills! No matter how flashy other sects' techniques are, if we channel our spiritual energy at them, they can only surrender!" —And that raised the question. Lin Xun asked cautiously, "So how does one control spiritual energy?" Old Man Huo flared with impatience, "What did you say?" Confused, Lin Xun repeated, "How does one manipulate spiritual energy?" "You've already drawn in spiritual energy, how could you not understand what it is?" A fair question. Lin Xun didn't know how to respond. I wrote a "helloworld," and then I achieved Qi induction? He met Old Man Huo's piercing gaze, slightly evasive. Old Man Huo demanded, "Close your eyes!" Lin Xun obediently closed them. Old Man Huo instructed, "Look around." Lin Xun thought, "?" How can you look with closed eyes? Old Man Huo continued, "Can't you feel the nebulous air floating around you? That is the spiritual energy of the world!" Lin Xun was speechless. At that moment, he felt like a struggling student, completely lost in the teacher's lecture, unsure where to start. In his over twenty years of life, when had he ever encountered such a situation? For a fleeting moment, he was utterly puzzled. This brief lapse exhausted Old Man Huo's patience. "You can't sense it at all?" Lin Xun admitted, "Disciple lacks skill." "What's going on!" Old Man Huo's frustration showed as his whiskers twitched, "I've searched people's meridians and dantians day after day, finally finding you with potential, only for you to know nothing?" Lin Xun realized he'd been rebuked. Who would've thought his first scolding from a mentor in life would be for failing to cultivate correctly? Old Man Huo took several deep breaths. "Fine! Return and ponder on this yourself, do not be complacent! Humph, my own meridians are clogged of late, I can't afford to fret over you!" Lin Xun feigned sincerity, "Master, have you been unwell lately?" "For some reason, my meridians haven't been flowing smoothly for the past two years. I wonder if it's due to old age—yet that old man Xiaoyaozi doesn't have this problem!" Lin Xun glanced at Old Man Huo's program interface. Currently, Old Man Huo had no programs running—because he wasn't using any martial arts. Yesterday, however, he had used a crawler program to gather external information, which led him to discover Lin Xun and take him as a disciple. Recalling his master's earlier remark about "daily probing of people's meridians and dantians," Lin Xun formed a hypothesis. Probing people’s meridians and dantians every day equated to using a crawler program daily to fetch external information. Most of this information was likely useless, possibly accumulating within Old Man Huo's body—if his probing had continued for years, or even decades, the accumulated data would be vast. If we compare the human body to a computer, an elderly person would resemble a computer with significantly reduced performance—an old computer prone to all sorts of inexplicable issues. A large volume of useless data becomes junk files, cluttering the disk, which could severely slow down the system's operation! In terms of "cultivation," this translates to obstructed meridians. Whether this analysis was correct or not, it was a plausible explanation. Lin Xun spoke up, striving to translate between two concepts: "Master, perhaps absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth daily causes impurities to build up in your meridians. If there were a way to clear these, your meridians might flow smoothly again." Old Man Huo's gaze had been steadily growing more disappointed, nearly reaching the point of labeling Lin Xun as "a block of wood that cannot be carved." However, upon hearing this, his eyes showed a hint of contemplation: "What you say... does bear some truth. Hmm, you do possess some sparks of wisdom."