Big Data Cultivation

Upon hearing Feng Jun's question, the idle man's face showed a troubled expression, "Well… the Scattered Cultivation Alliance forbids us from saying anything."

"How much longer are you going to fool me for? Do you think I'm that gullible?" Feng Jun sneered, suddenly drawing a dagger, "Do you want to put on your boots again, huh?"

The idle man's courage wasn't really that great; even the bit of roguish demeanor was just an act to protect himself. Otherwise, at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, he shouldn't be this scared. Seeing the opponent draw a dagger to chop off his feet, he got anxious, "No, no, can't I just tell you?"

He had been instructed not to reveal anything to the outside, but encountering robbers was a common occurrence around the market towns. People only rob without hurting; he'd consider himself fortunate for that.

The other party wanted to figure out if they could continue robbing nearby, which was normal—flow bandits, right?

But even flow bandits must consider who they can rob and who they shouldn't. The Scattered Cultivation Alliance is not what it used to be; now it has five Golden Cores. In just half a year, besides the Liu family brothers, three more Golden Cores were added.

The Scattered Cultivation Alliance is unlike the Four Great Sects and Wutai, where there are so many Golden Cores they need to hide them. They promote one as they develop one. Their primary task at the moment is to spread their reputation, so they do not hide it from the outside.

Ruining the Scattered Cultivation Alliance's plans… Even the average flow bandit doesn't have the guts for that.

So the idle man explained, saying our task is to watch where someone suddenly appears—what's sudden? It's when you only see a person but no sign of them coming, that's what's called sudden.

"Are you playing games with me?" Feng Jun sneered, "Aren't you talking about me? Kid, it looks like you not only don't want your feet, but you don't want your life either."

"Big brother, I really didn't lie to you," the idle man hurriedly explained, "We're supposed to investigate Ascension-level figures, who have a cultivation slightly higher than yours… If you don't believe me, you can ask around at the marketplace, the Scattered Cultivation Alliance now has a shop in Rong Mountain too."

Feng Jun seemed to have the expression of "I feel like you're not lying," and after pondering for a while, he asked, "They're letting you, a mid-stage Qi Refining, watch an Ascension-level person, do you have any unique abilities, or… are you not afraid of death?"

"We also have people of the higher stages of Qi Deviation," the idle man replied offhandedly, "All we need to do after finding him is remember where he showed up and report it, no need to tail him, not much danger there."

"Damn, have I gotten involved in something big again," Feng Jun muttered softly, casually tossing down two boots, "I'm giving you face, leaving you the boots… You know how to talk, right?"

"I understand," the idle man nodded, knowing full well that the pair of boots on him was the most valuable thing—a flying artifact, "Rest assured, big brother, it's like I've never seen you appear."

"Fine," Feng Jun waved his hand, throwing out the Storage Talisman, "I'll even return your Storage Talisman, you're open with me, I'll be open with you."

"Thank you, big brother," the idle man hesitated for a moment and then dared to speak, "Could you leave me the broken Spirit Stones? You're such an important figure, using this kind of thing… seems beneath you."

Feng Jun's face darkened as he spoke harshly, "Are you forcing me to kill you to silence this?"

His actions were most in line with the role of a flow bandit—taking things he couldn't use, he might not even dare to enter a market town, but broken Spirit Stones were different. Even though they were not many, they could still be used as currency, to buy some Spirit Rice when passing a village.

The idle man was scared again, "Fine, big brother, let's pretend I didn't say anything, okay?"

"People need to know contentment," Feng Jun gave him a cold look, swayed his body, and disappeared into a grove of trees.

After that, he remained invisible as he slipped out of the hundred-mile area.

After analysis, he had confirmed that the people they were searching for were likely him.

Because he had vanished around here initially, and when he reappeared, it was at Jumu Market Town. At that time, it seemed there was a seeker from the Yinsha Sect behind him. Although they couldn't be certain where he disappeared, drawing a zone was quite normal.

Once Hanpo contacted Yinsha, they likely analyzed the previous battle in detail.

They should be able to guess that he has powerful spatial abilities without relying on talismans, so setting up defenses in areas he might disappear is certainly normal—what if he suddenly reappears here again?

Of course, this was just speculation, so they hired some ordinary people to keep a watch here. The main intent should not just be to prevent him from suddenly showing up—if he appears, these people are essentially useless. By the time they can alert anyone, he would have vanished without a trace.

So the role of these people should be to verify speculation and understand his capabilities.

Feng Jun didn't know much about Yinsha, but Yinsha also didn't know much about him—after all, the confrontation between the two had already begun, and understanding the opponent is naturally important.

As for the expenditure of so many Spirit Stones to hire people to keep watch for a long time or even act… is that really an issue?

This also shows how terrifying it can be to offend a major force. They won't mind spending money and mobilizing people, with substantial execution capability, to ensure no clues are lost.

However, Feng Jun was a bit puzzled as to why the Scattered Cultivation Alliance involved itself—should he teach them a lesson?

The Scattered Cultivation Alliance had developed rapidly in the last half year, he'd heard. It seemed like a close associate of the Liu family brothers had embraced the Golden Core, bringing another Golden Core into the alliance, and the Liu brothers had even invited a Golden Core—seems like they're trying to prevent internal strife.

The Loose Cultivator Alliance currently has five Golden Cores. Rumors suggest there might be hidden ones, though it's pure speculation. Anyway, rumors spread with lots of details; the Wutai has only five Golden Cores, and the Loose Cultivator Alliance doesn't dare to show a sixth.

Simply put, this isn't an opponent that can be easily dealt with. Feng Jun wants to open a second front while dealing with the Yinsha Sect… It's not particularly easy.

Feng Jun considers himself not to be a petty person, but he really doesn't have a big heart.

However, after thinking it over, he decides to temporarily let the Loose Cultivator Alliance go. He tells himself, this isn't about whether a second front can be opened, but rather… since you're going to fight, you must think clearly, why fight?

Or, after a victory, what benefits can be gained; if not fighting, what will be lost?

Military action is a continuation of politics; even on Earth, it's written in textbooks.

Feng Jun thinks, if he really goes to find trouble with the Loose Cultivator Alliance, not to mention other things, it's at least possible that his ability for spatial transposition will be exposed — if it's not your business, why rush?

So this matter… can only be treated as if he doesn't know about it. Feng Jun silently takes note of this in his little book, then turns to leave.

The Celestial Star Marketplace is very close to the Rong Mountain Square Market, just over a million miles away. Feng Jun doesn't use the Flash Star Boat, but directly requests from the Big Boss to let Xiao Bai out, and in just two nights, he reaches the Celestial Star Marketplace.

Jie Chaosheng arrives a little later than him — even though teleportation is fast, it still takes time for him to reach the Transmission Array from the wilderness.

He stays at the Celestial Star Marketplace for two days, gathering the information he wants, then goes to the outskirts of the market to meet Feng Jun.

Unfortunately, he doesn't gather information about Master Hanpo's related industries — it's said that Hanpo has a cold personality, doesn't like managing businesses, nor does he like keeping idle people. He engages in a lot of external killings, but whatever industries he acquires, he sells off promptly.

In short, Master Hanpo leads a relatively pure life, cutting off ties and emotions very thoroughly. He has spoils of war but no industries.

This result leaves Feng Jun somewhat at a loss for words, but there's nothing he can say, because in the Cultivation World, there are many such cultivators, especially the stronger they are, the higher the proportion.

As for Earth Realm, it's like — the wealthier someone is, the more resources they control, but for truly strong individuals, they don't rely on wealth to speak. Just standing there, and resources will naturally flow to them endlessly.

But Jie Chaosheng feels a bit embarrassed, as he kept saying he could find Hanpo's industries. Now, to make up for this mistake, he can only say, "I have a suggestion. The Yinsha Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony is coming up, and I found out about the main venue."

The Four Great Sects hold their disciple recruitment ceremony once every three years, recruiting over ten thousand disciples each time, bringing in over a hundred thousand people every thirty years.

In ninety years, that's over forty thousand people. Now, the Four Great Sects each have around forty thousand Qi-Refining Disciples… This number matches the setting.

However, within three years, only a little over ten thousand are recruited, and some are recruited earlier or pre-determined. Comparing this with Huaxia on Earth, universities like Qingbei University only recruit slightly over three thousand a year.

The number of people in the Cultivation World greatly exceeds Huaxia's population. The reason it's sparsely populated is simply because of the vast land.

The Celestial Star Marketplace is already very close to the Yinsha Sect, a little over a million miles away.

Feng Jun isn't sure how many people there are in the Cultivation World, but it's said — there are thirty to fifty billion.

Just consider, the Qiuchen Market has two million people, and there are over two hundred such markets in the Cultivation World.

More of the population isn't in the markets, but in villages and towns, especially various clans. Rarely would any clan move into a market — not only is the cost high, but more importantly… who would cultivate in a bustling market? Even Earth people know to head to remote mountains!

These numbers are quite dry, so let's use a more concrete analogy. With so many people in the Cultivation World, in three years only over ten thousand can enter Yinsha, while in terms of probability, it's certainly lower than getting into Qingbei in Huaxia.

And once entering the Four Great Sects, there's a long road ahead — that's just a threshold.

One could imagine, if Feng Jun on Earth challenges universities like Qingbei, how much resistance would he face, which reflects how harsh his current situation is.

But if he doesn't challenge, does he admit defeat? That's clearly impossible. At the very least, he must hurt the opponent, carve out a space for himself, which is the right path.

Fortunately, he has the support of two universities of similar level, with another named "Qinggang" also showing hints of interest. He's not alone, so there's a fight to be had.

Now, Jie Chaosheng's suggestion is: Boss, I know where the Yinsha University's admissions office is, and… most of their freshmen will also gather there. Should we do something?

Feng Jun strokes his chin, sinking into thought: Students… are always innocent, right?

Is it really a good idea to do this?