Data-Driven Daoist

Yu Han woke up the next morning to an unfamiliar ceiling.

Oh, right. We stayed over at the Night Alchemists’ Yard.

He was lying on a mat on the floor of the resting quarters—a small wing where Night Soil Collectors could stay the night after working their shift.

Fang Zhao sat cross-legged on another mat, and Li Yao was nowhere to be seen. Although there were kidnappers out to get her, Huang Niuniu had been reluctant to sleep in the same room as three smelly men. So she had slept in a smaller storage room beside the resting quarters, with Fei Rui guarding her. There were no specific resting quarters for women, as she was the only girl to work this job in decades.

Yu Han heaved himself up. For some reason, his muscles were sore. It had been a while since he felt this way. The smell of compost hit his nose, followed by the humid sting of the morning wind.

The window was open.

Name: Yu Han (Johan)

Level: 1

Active Accords: 1

Pure Qi: 4 (-8) / 200

Primordial Qi: 0

Lifeforce: 441 (+40) / 792

Eight Pure Qi assimilated into True Qi, and three True Qi from other sources. In five days, he would receive another Pure Qi Assimilating Elixir. Then another, seven days later.

At this rate, I’ll hit the True Qi cap before heading into the Hidden Realm. Maybe even reach Level 2, depending on the trial.

There were the usual gains for Deep Sleep.

[Deep Sleep]

Type: Bloodline

Grade: Mortal Level 1

Mastery: Initial Step Level 2

True Qi: 10 (+3) / 300

[Echoing Dreamscape]

Type: Auxiliary

Grade: Mortal Level 10

Mastery: Initial Step Level 6

True Qi: 149 (+19) / 700

Before, a night of Echoing Dreamscape usage would grant him around seven to ten True Qi. Now, combined with the memory pearls, he had doubled the gain. It was a shame that the increase didn't spike exponentially like the previous night.

[Calm Before the Storm Breathing Technique]

Type: Cultivation

Grade: Mortal Level 5

Mastery: Initial Step Level 2

True Qi: 65 (+30) / 300

[Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms]

Type: Martial

Grade: Elite Level 2

Mastery: Initial Step Level 2

True Qi: 52 (+6) / 300

[Thousand Petals Awareness]

Type: Psychic

Grade: Elite Level 9

Mastery: Initial Step Level 1

True Qi: 189 (+41) / 200

Normal training with Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms yielded little improvement, the best came with real combat. His cultivation art shot ahead in True Qi though. Same with Thousand Petals Awareness.

Mental practices really do show tangible gains, Yu Han thought. Despite having access to nearly ten Martial Arts, Yu Han would keep his physical efforts limited to the Ox Tail 72 Sweeping Forms for now. In the future, the best way to allocate his time both awake and asleep were Psychic Arts.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Maybe Spiritual Arts will show similar improvements?

Yu Han stretched. His joints made popping sounds.

"Where's Li Yao?" he asked Fang Zhao.

Fang Zhao blinked at him. "Brother Li has to report in at the butchery."

"Oh, right." With everything happening recently, Yu Han had almost forgotten that Li Yao had his own internal Sect mission.

"What are you going to do?" Yu Han asked Fang Zhao. "With the porter job gone, you'll still need an internal mission. Otherwise, you won't get the monthly stipend." Beyond that, the boy could be punished by the Law Enforcement Hall, since an internal mission was mandatory even for rookies.

"I'll apply to be a Night Soil Collector," Fang Zhao said without hesitation.

"You'll get mocked. They already call us the Dung Duo."

"Let them." There was a superiority in Fang Zhao's reply. "Brother Yu, Night Soil Collecting is a dirty but essential job. The Sect knows it, even if most others don't. Even when I asked around about it, I only knew you guys had a legitimate way to access the Hidden Realm. But it was only after we fought those Filth Eating Ghouls that I realised just how much special treatment you get. Combat experience, a healing hot spring, access to peak Elite grade armour, a caring senior brother, and unique missions for the Hidden Realm. This is a treasure trove. Elder Chang and Senior Wen even hinted last time that we were free to join. So why would I not?"

"Makes sense." Yu Han nodded. At first, he had thought it was only a janitor job. How wrong he'd been… Huang Niuniu had said that it wasn't impossible to join the Alchemy or Medical Hall via the Night Alchemists' Yard later.

"I don't have an Offensive Art at Mastery Level 1, though," Fang Zhao said. "Even if I request to join at the Mission Hall, I won't get a Coverall until then."

"What Art did you select from the Scripture Hall?"

"Steady Bull Steps." He took out a bamboo scroll from his pack. Before coming to the Night Alchemists' Yard, all four of them had packed up valuables, lest the Mad Bloodhounds try to pull something. "It's a Martial Art, but more for Endurance and Strength to lug things around. It's useful for porter work." Fang Zhao rubbed his stone storage ring.

Right—he wouldn't be using that in the presence of untrustworthy people. Yu Han remembered what Fang Zhao had told him about his clan: They wouldn't be allowed to learn Arts unrelated to their clan's unique trait. So the boy probably didn't have any Offensive Art manuals to speak of.

"Brother Li offered to share his sword manuals," Fang Zhao said with a shake of his head, "but I don't feel any affinity for weapons." He raised his palm above his eyes, the tiger-engraved gold ring catching the daylight. "At least for now." He clenched his fist, the anger in his eyes palpable.

Yu Han rummaged through his pack and brought out five books, which he had bound with reed-grass paper and hemp rope. After thinking for a while, he took out another.

"See if you feel an affinity for any of these." Yu Han passed them to Fang Zhao.

Charcoal letters adorned each book. Iron Mountain Fist. Sevenfold Strikes of the Waves. Thunderclap Punch. Whirlpool Kick Method. Bronze Crane Leg.

And finally, Feather Scale Step.

They were the Elite Grade Martial Arts Yu Han had copied into his dreamscape from the Rookie Village Library.

"T-These are…!" The red-eyed boy gasped.

"Don't ask where I got them," Yu Han said. "They're copies. The text is correct, but the diagrams might be slightly inaccurate. So take absolute care."

"Are you sure?" Fang Zhao said. "You all have already helped me more than enough. Any more and—"

"Just pay us back when you can," Yu Han said.

For a while, the red-eyed boy didn't say anything. Finally, he stood and cupped his fists. "Thanks."

Yu Han left the resting quarters and found Huang Niuniu and Fei Rui whispering about something.

"You guys can't even understand each other." An exasperated sigh escaped his lips.

"H-Han'er!" Huang Niuniu hopped up to her feet. The two whips, Pale Spine and Lotus Razor, were at her waist.

Fei Rui clicked his way to his feet, then expanded until he was the size of a capybara. 「No baddies yesterday. I looked. Big small worm wasn't there either. Where did he go?」

"Probably to eat shit," Yu Han said. He didn't really like that worm.

The morning passed with some small drizzles. No other disciples came. The rest of the Night Soil Collectors really favoured doing their rounds during night-time.

Yu Han tested projecting the echoes in real life with both objects and events. They would all have an overlapping effect on reality, but everything was holographic to the sense of touch. Sounds, sights, and smells could be projected, but not touch, nor taste. How would he even eat a memory of a bowl of rice if his hand went through it like a ghost's?

After each projection, the lime-green pearls would dim, unable to be projected again. It was lucky that the main compound was empty. Otherwise, he wouldn't want to test his unique skills here. Fei Rui was there to alert him just in case.

Later, he took some fruits from the pantry, munching on a pear as he stepped out into the main yard.

"Let's leave in an hour and finish before evening," he suggested to Huang Niuniu.

The girl nodded, forehead dripping with sweat. Her baggy clothes clung to her body as she set the whips on the ground.

She had been practising relentlessly with her new weapons. But the Spiral Dance of the Willow and the Wisp was an Earth Grade Martial Art. It wasn't so easily learnt. At least the yard was big enough that she could freely whip about without harming herself or Fang Zhao, who was also training there.

Fang Zhao was going through martial arts movements with practised ease. When he had first started, there was some visible resistance. But within these few hours, his movements seemed masterful.

One strike with the palm, followed by another. A total of seven, with seven different variations. From time to time, the boy would flip through the Sevenfold Strikes of the Waves manual, muttering.

"I got it," he said suddenly.

"What?" Yu Han raised a brow.

"The Art. It appeared!" The red-eyed boy pumped his fists. "Initial Step Mastery Level 1. Finally, I'm moving forward!" His words were laced with meaning, as if he had been allowed to breathe after years of suffocation.

Huang Niuniu shot him a glare.

"S-Sister Huang, the Art you practise is Earth Grade, while this fist Art is merely Elite Grade. You don't have to feel jealou—"

"I'm not jealous!" She huffed, then stomped inside the main compound. "Han'er, we're leaving. Let's get some Pure Qi."

"Let me finish eat—"

"Han’er!"

Yu Han and Huang Niuniu put on their Coveralls. When they came out, Li Yao was there, standing deathly silent, watching Fang Zhao train.

His face was pale, one arm above a sword hilt as if ready to draw any time.

"What's wrong?" Yu Han asked.

"...They told me to either quit the butchery or quit hanging out with you," Li Yao said, his voice eerily calm. "Said the Night Soil Collectors carry evil stuff with them. If I butcher meat like this, I'll be putting the evil stuff in the food."

"That's not scientific," Yu Han said. "Was it Sima Yan?"

"Don't know. Maybe. Probably." Li Yao looked his way. "Fuck them. I'll join the Night Soil Collectors with Fang Zhao. You think I can ask Senior Feral Spots to clog the butchery supervisor's outhouse too?"

"Ask Niu'er." Yu Han shrugged.

The four left, two heading towards the stone tank cesspools on a donkey cart, the other two heading towards the Mission Hall.

Yu Han and Huang Niuniu each earned around ten Pure Qi that day.

Pure Qi: 14 (+10) / 200

Meanwhile, Fang Zhao and Li Yao successfully joined the Night Alchemists' Yard.

Five days later, Elder Chang arrived.

"Follow me." His command was not to be denied. He led Yu Han to one corner of the warehouse-like donkey shed. As the thickset man approached a giant bale of hay with heavy steps, Fei Rui blocked his way, pincers ready for war.