The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 263 - 4: A Storm is Brewing?

His Oratory no longer had a specific format. This meant its element of surprise and concealment would be even greater. If all went according to plan, this ability could become his best tool for a sneak attack.

Standing at the pool’s edge, Zhang Deming was suddenly at a loss. He had no idea how to begin using his Oratory.

’No format, no direction... Doesn’t that mean I can do anything just by speaking?’

’That can’t be possible. If it were, it’d be Words Accompanied by Law!’

Baffled, he stared blankly for a moment.

After a moment, Zhang Deming looked at the calm Qingyou Pool. An idea struck him, and he said, "Wind, rise!"

The Spiritual Power in his body stirred instantly, activating his Tier Three Feather Fall Technique at the same time.

Using the Tier Three Feather Fall Technique as a base, wisps of Spirit Wind began to blow at the water’s edge.

Zhang Deming paused, slightly stunned. As he felt the Spirit Wind generated by the Feather Fall Technique, a theory began to form in his mind.

He opened his mouth again. "Clouds, surge!"

The surrounding water vapor rapidly rose and gathered into a cloud not far above his head.

He could feel his Little Cloud Rain Skill faintly stirring within him.

Of course, the cloud in front of him wasn’t a direct result of the Cloud Rain Skill, but it had been triggered using the Little Cloud Rain Skill as a primer.

’So, does my Oratory need to use the Techniques I’ve already learned as a primer?’

’Looking at it another way, does this mean that in the future, I can cast all my Techniques just by speaking, without needing any hand seals?’

With this in mind, Zhang Deming spoke again. "Spiritual Eye!"

Sure enough, as he spoke, the Spiritual Eye Technique activated directly, using his Word Spirit as a lever, all without any hand seals.

And unlike the previous two uses of Word Spirit, which only activated weakly, this one functioned at its normal strength.

This confirmed his theory. ’From now on, I can cast just by speaking.’

’But what if I use Oratory for a Magic Path I’ve never studied? How would the Word Spirit manifest the effect?’

He frowned slightly and said in a thoughtful tone, "Forge!"

A slender, emerald Vine snaked out and quickly wove itself into the shape of a Long Sword in mid-air.

Zhang Deming’s frown deepened. ’This is how it fulfills the command?’

Clearly, he was not satisfied with this result.

"Fly!"

His Feather Fall Technique activated at Rapid Speed. A faint Spirit Wind rose from beneath his feet, and as the wings on his back beat rapidly, Zhang Deming floated into the air.

’No, that’s not it. This is still just an effect piggybacking on one of my existing Techniques.’

’I’ve never learned any kind of Bloodline transformation, so how will it handle this?’

"Transform!"

The power of the Array Dao surged. He immediately sensed the power of a basic Illusion Array as his form instantly changed into that of a monkey.

"Earth Escape!"

The Vine began to churn rapidly, boring a hole directly into the ground before him.

Watching all of this, the corner of Zhang Deming’s mouth twitched.

Ha!

’Does it really need my existing Techniques as a primer?’

’And when I give a command related to a Magic Path I’ve never studied, does the Word Spirit just... improvise, using my abilities to indirectly achieve the effect?’

’What about this, then?’

Zhang Deming looked up at the sky and said, "Sunset!"

The moment he finished speaking, his Dantian pulsed violently.

"Ngh!"

He let out a muffled grunt, his brow furrowed in pain. It was a backlash from the Technique, though not a severe one.

’So, if I use this Technique to speak a command that’s completely impossible to fulfill, I’ll suffer a backlash?’

This was a weakness he would have to keep in mind. However, it was a common drawback for many Oratory-type skills.

It was just that his own Technique had mutated several times and was now very powerful, so the resulting backlash was also quite potent.

Zhang Deming paused. Someone else might have needed a long time to recover from such a backlash.

But with his script suppressing his Dantian, his chaotic Spiritual Power returned to normal in moments.

Zhang Deming resumed his experiments, trying out all sorts of Word Spirit commands.

Half an hour later, Zhang Deming had a general understanding of his Word Spirit’s effects.

He summarized his findings into a few key points.

First, he could use Word Spirit to cast a Technique simply by calling out its name, with no need for hand seals or a casting time. It was roughly equivalent to a semi-slotted Technique.

It couldn’t compare to a fully slotted Technique that could be cast with just A Thought, but it was far better than ordinary casting with hand seals.

Second, if the command involved a power he had already learned, the corresponding Technique would activate peripherally to fulfill the Word Spirit’s command.

The results of such commands were decent.

Third, if the command involved a power he hadn’t learned, one of two things would happen: either one of his existing Techniques would activate to indirectly fulfill it—like the "Forge" command—or the effect would manifest in a pathetic way. Overall, the results from such commands were generally weak.

Fourth, if the command was something he was completely incapable of achieving, it wouldn’t even produce a pathetic effect. Instead, he would suffer a Technique backlash.

Even though his script could suppress the backlash quickly, he had to be careful about this during combat. Otherwise, one careless mistake could result in his plan backfiring completely.

After thoroughly figuring out his Word Spirit Technique, Zhang Deming went on to test his Vine and Hidden Breath Skill.

As for his Array Dao, he had already reached Tier Two with it.

However, due to the unique nature of the Array Dao, its techniques possessed the greatest flexibility, but they also demanded the most extensive knowledge and dedicated study.

Since Zhang Deming had never studied the principles of Arrays before, the results were far from satisfactory.

For now, he could only use the basic Trapping Array that came with the Technique—one that even an Apprentice could break.

His Illusion Array had flaws that were obvious at a glance.

And his Killing Array would be hard-pressed to kill even half a Demon Beast.

After he finished testing his Techniques, Zhang Deming went back to his room to pack his things. He had just stepped out into the courtyard, planning to enjoy a rare, stolen moment of peace...