The next morning, Zhang Deming got up, cooked, and began his daily routine of casting techniques.
He wasn't worried about the Spiritual Shield Technique anymore; he just had to keep up his routine.
Besides that, the thing he needed to worry about was his Cultivation.
Now that he had moved to Qingyou Pool, the Spiritual Qi was much richer, and his daily Cultivation nearly doubled his Experience Points gain.
Combined with the extra Experience Points from Spiritual Food, he was earning about five Experience Points per day on average.
But with a growth requirement of 20,000 Experience Points, it would still take four thousand days at a rate of five points per day.
More than ten years. Although for an Ordinary Outer Disciple, taking over a decade to be promoted to Advanced Apprentice wasn't considered slow.
Not to mention, for someone with a twenty-one point Spirit Root Talent, a promotion in twelve or thirteen years was already incredibly fast.
But to Zhang Deming, it still felt too slow.
He needed to find a way to lower the total Experience Points required.
Currently, he had two options: improving his Spirit Root or modifying his Cultivation Technique.
He had absolutely no leads on improving his Spirit Root, so his only option was to modify the mounted Cultivation Technique.
Outer Disciples, aside from the free Basic Cultivation Technique, could also spend a small number of Contribution Points to apply at the Scripture Pavilion for a better, specialized Cultivation Technique suited to various paths.
However, these were still just Secret Level Low Grade Tier One Cultivation Techniques.
For an Ordinary person, it might be a significant improvement, but for Zhang Deming who used a 'mount', it probably wouldn't have much effect.
What he needed was a Secret Level Mid Grade Tier Two Cultivation Technique. Only then could he drastically reduce the total Experience Points required.
After all, his Cultivation didn't depend on the Spiritual Agriculture Dao; it was based on his script 'mount'.
The script only cared about the Cultivation Technique's level. Specialized classifications only made the conversion of Spiritual Qi during Cultivation more efficient.
And his conversion was already at maximum efficiency.
But Secret Level Mid Grade Tier Two Cultivation Techniques and Techniques were things one would normally only encounter during the Tai Chi Stage.
If an Apprentice wanted access, only a very small number of Advanced Apprentices had the means, such as through the promotion application channel.
And even then, it was mostly Techniques. Compared to Techniques, Cultivation Techniques were even rarer.
In the Hongmeng Realm, Cultivation Techniques were generally more precious than Techniques because Techniques were so difficult to get started with.
A Technique only became precious once you'd learned it.
But every Technique was incredibly difficult to cultivate, especially the High Tier ones.
...
For several days, Zhang Deming cultivated, exercised, and practiced his casting. Occasionally, when the afternoon heat became too much, he would jump into Qingyou Pool for a refreshing swim.
His days were leisurely and pleasant. In the ten-plus years since he had arrived in this world, he had never been so at ease.
Today was the day for the weekly public lecture.
Although Zhang Deming had already learned the Agility Technique, he still planned to go today.
For one, he didn't plan to report his success yet.
Second, while life at Qingyou Pool was great, he was missing a social circle, which was a very important thing to have.
'Until you're so powerful that people are falling over themselves to suck up to you, maintaining a steady social circle is essential.'
The public lecture was an excellent place for that, and besides, he needed to ask around about matters related to Cultivation Techniques.
He didn't get up as early as last time. When it was about time, Zhang Deming finally got out of bed to cook.
After finishing everything, Zhang Deming completed his casting in the medicinal field and checked the time.
Guessing the time was about right, he finally headed out.
When he reached the intersection, his Heart Spirit stirred.
A pair of tiny, transparent wings materialized, trembling slightly at his heels. His pupils contracted, and the world seemed to slow down just a bit.
As the Agility Technique activated, Zhang Deming shot forward like a bolt of electricity.
His starting speed of sixty to seventy yards per second instantly kicked up a considerable gust of wind.
The last time, he had complained about the long distance, but this time, he was there in no time at all.
It had to be said that within the Celestial Spirit Sect, the Agility Technique was one of the most practical Techniques available.
Since Zhang Deming hadn't left particularly early, there were few people on the road.
As Zhang Deming neared the plaza, he deliberately slowed to a stop.
He took a moment to compose himself before strolling into the plaza.
At this point, the lecture would begin in less than half an hour.
The stream of people rushing to the lecture in the plaza had thinned out considerably.
When Zhang Deming passed through the plaza and reached the Dharma Transmission Hall area, he paused in surprise.
"Senior Brother Xue, shouldn't you be rushing to grab a seat up front? What are you doing waiting around here?"
Zhang Deming greeted Xue Su, whom he saw standing at the entrance to the Dharma Transmission Hall area.
Hearing Zhang Deming's voice, Xue Su looked up with a pleased expression. "Junior Brother Zhang, I was starting to think you weren't coming! Why are you so late?"
Zhang Deming paused for a moment before replying, "Eh, I was thinking, I've only just started trying to figure out the Agility Technique.
I'm not going to get anywhere with it anytime soon, and since I can't really understand the lecture or get much inspiration from it anyway...
...it doesn't make a difference whether I sit at the front or the back. So I didn't bother rushing to get a seat.
Once I've gotten the hang of it, I'll start fighting for a spot in the main hall to seek inspiration.
But what about you? What are you up to?"
Xue Su smiled. "I'm in a similar boat. I've pretty much been to all of these Dharma Transmission Halls.
I've heard pretty much everything there is to hear, so I don't care about grabbing a particular seat anymore."
Zhang Deming looked at him with a flash of understanding and smiled. "Well then... shall we go in together?"
Xue Su's face lit up as he nodded. "Sure, let's go together."
The two then entered the Dharma Transmission Hall, chatting enthusiastically.
Because the halls at the front were already full, Zhang Deming and Xue Su entered Hall Number Twenty.
The lecturer this time was an old man. After listening for a short while, Zhang Deming realized he was clearly not as good as the previous one, Dang Jin.
He wasn't as conscientious, either. Zhang Deming got the impression that the man was just reading from a script, coasting until retirement, and generally phoning it in.
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt that he could do a better job than this lecturer just by sharing the insights he'd gained from his editing plug-in.
After a long while, Zhang Deming turned his head and saw that Xue Su also looked incredibly bored.
He reached out and lightly tapped the Light Screen on his desk, then nudged Xue Su.
Xue Su flinched in surprise. Zhang Deming gestured, and Xue Su tapped the Light Screen in front of him as well.
Instantly, a transparent Sound Insulation Array activated over their desks, enveloping them both.
After the Array activated, Xue Su looked at Zhang Deming and asked, "What's up?"
Zhang Deming gave a wry smile. "I can't understand a thing. I guess his lecture is just too good, too profound for me."
Xue Su stared blankly for a moment, then laughed. "Junior Brother Zhang, you're a real kidder. Senior Brother Guan is always like this. He's nearing retirement.
He gave up on reaching the Tai Chi Stage long ago, so he's just coasting.
His lectures definitely can't compare to Senior Brother Dang Jin's.
After all, Senior Brother Dang Jin reached Apprentice Peak before he was even forty and is a lecturer in the Dharma Transmission Hall. The only thing he's lacking now are the resources for promotion.
So of course he puts a lot of thought and effort into his lectures.
After all, for every extra person who successfully cultivates a Technique, he gets an additional stream of income.
If there weren't such a difference between them, why would everyone bother coming so early to save a seat?"