Master, What Dao Do You Cultivate?

Chapter 25: That… Dealer Online Dealing Cards

After hanging up the phone, Ji Qinglin had no trace of sleepiness left. He sat up and continued studying these software programs.

The one he had mostly figured out how to use so far was Beidou Maps.

The only problem was that he lacked the necessary movement techniques. If he could install a Cloud Ladder Leap or Swift Stride module, his mobility would probably improve drastically.

But his body couldn’t install them directly. He would likely have to use Divine Perception to observe others using light-footed techniques in order to learn them.

Since he couldn’t make progress with Beidou Maps and had nothing to scan with Divine Perception, Ji Qinglin could only shift his focus to Cloud Storage Qi Sea.

From his experience, a cloud storage system was nothing more than a place to download and upload massive amounts of data. But how did that relate to a Qi Sea?

He vaguely remembered that in the Old Era, he had stored quite a bit of harmonious adult content in his cloud drive. But during the internet cleanup campaigns, all of it had been deleted.

As a first-time user, Ji Qinglin clicked “Register.” To be cautious, he naturally wouldn’t use his real name, so he randomly typed in “Huang Silang” in the nickname field.

However, after clicking register, the system prompted him to bind a personal ID number. Ji Qinglin first entered a 15-digit Bangkok ID number.

“Sorry, your ID format is incorrect.”After hesitating for a moment, Ji Qinglin tried inputting the 18-digit ID number from his past life, which he knew by heart.

“Congratulations, registration successful!”

So this “phone” really was an artifact from the Old Era.

If that was the case, then everything related to it was probably something only his past self could use.

In other words, as far as this program was concerned, he was the only real user.

Cloud Storage Qi Sea gradually opened. The clean interface background was filled with drifting white clouds.

The homepage was empty, except for the four words: “Unblock Qi Sea.”

Since there was no instruction manual, Ji Qinglin tentatively clicked it. A first-time use prompt immediately appeared in front of him.

“Please sit in a quiet, flat place. Click confirm when ready.”

Ji Qinglin shut the door, turned back, and sat down on the old sofa. Taking a deep breath, he clicked “Confirm.”

Immediately, everything in front of him began to darken. But the room’s lighting hadn’t changed, meaning that the connection to Cloud Storage Qi Sea was creating a special effect on his senses.

As his surroundings turned pitch black, Ji Qinglin felt as if his body was floating in space.

Before long, a light appeared diagonally above him. Looking up, he saw that it was a shimmering, radiant liquid, like golden sunlight reflecting off a river, surging toward him.

The liquid cascaded down like a waterfall. Instinctively, Ji Qinglin raised a hand to block it.

But just as it reached him, the liquid suddenly split into two streams, flowing past either side of his body without touching him.

What the hell was this?

Curious, Ji Qinglin reached out to touch it. The shimmering liquid rippled at his fingertips. Then, to his surprise, his fingers transformed into the same radiant substance.

He lifted his hand for a closer look—his fingers were now covered in shifting, colorful lights, as if a curved smartphone screen had wrapped around them.

Not only that, but the resolution was incredibly high. Each tiny module covering his skin displayed something different—text, images, even videos.

This… was data!

An endless ocean of data, carried within the Cloud Storage!

Ji Qinglin tried to make out the content but could only catch glimpses of simple phrases:

“Sexy dealer, online dealing cards.”

“Late-night livestream, video chat.”

Hiss—these were ancient data files from his era.

Just as he was wondering how to use them, another prompt popped up:

You may absorb Qi Force from the ocean of data by meditating or raising both hands. The data Qi Force will be scientifically distributed throughout your body.Once absorbed, the Qi Force in your Qi Sea cannot regenerate and must be replenished from the data ocean.The speed and capacity of absorption will gradually increase with repeated use.The absorbed data Qi Force can be released from your body to destroy opposing programs or existing databases.Hiss—

Reading this, Ji Qinglin sucked in a cold breath.

This was data?

In a wuxia world, this would definitely be called internal energy. In a cultivation world, it would be more appropriate to call it Qi.

Although he hadn’t installed any cultivation components, he had studied many cultivation techniques.

If he could release data from his palm to destroy an opponent’s cultivation module or original database, it would be no different from shattering someone’s meridians with a single strike.

Could this actually be used to harm people? Normally, programs would have safeguards to prevent such misuse.

But for him, that didn’t really matter. Because to this program, only he—the sole surviving user from the Old Era—was considered a real person. It likely didn’t recognize anyone else’s identity or consciousness.

Still, he wasn’t sure if this data had any other uses. Could it be converted into actual cultivation techniques?

With that thought, Ji Qinglin followed the program’s instructions, slowly raising both arms. The streams of data flowing past him were intercepted by his hands and began pouring into his body.

Although it was just data, it felt like cool water flowing over his skin.

In the upper-right corner of the program interface, there were ten small white human figures, which seemed to indicate the absorption limit.

As his body absorbed more data, it started to resemble his fingers—covered in countless tiny pieces of information. But Ji Qinglin remained on guard.

If he could keep absorbing indefinitely, there wouldn’t have been such detailed usage instructions.

With that in mind, Ji Qinglin tried moving his body. He immediately noticed that the data surrounding him had encased him like a layer of cement, restricting his movements.

Realizing something was wrong, he quickly lowered his arms to stop the absorption.

As soon as he stopped, the chaotic data streams on his body began sorting themselves out, gradually becoming orderly. The restrictive sensation also started to fade.

Only then did Ji Qinglin understand:

He could absorb data from the ocean to strengthen himself, but the energy was chaotic and disorganized. After reaching a certain limit, he had to take time to regulate and refine it before it could be properly used.

After several attempts, Ji Qinglin had basically figured out how the program worked.

He looked just like a cultivator—stretching his arms toward the sky to absorb energy one moment, then sitting cross-legged on his bed to regulate his breathing the next. With each cycle, he refined more of the data into something usable.

Though he hadn’t had a chance to actually test it, Ji Qinglin could already feel the strange sense of heaviness in his body after absorbing large amounts of data.

Whether it was because he had finally found a way to cultivate or because the Qi Sea itself could eliminate fatigue, Ji Qinglin didn’t sleep at all that night. He just kept absorbing data until the sky began to lighten in the east.