Data-Driven Daoist

“You’re grabby with your hands, Tubs,” Li Yao said. He picked up three dumplings with his chopsticks and threw them into his mouth.

“What do you mean?” Yu Han asked. He slurped his spicy braised beans, his face smoking red.

“You look like you want to throw that at someone.”

“Don’t underestimate throwing stuff.” Especially if it was piping hot soup. Aim for the eyes, and they’d be on the floor screaming.

Yu Han made popping sounds with his lips. The hot chilli seemed to cool his anger. He ignored the snickering from the other kids and made his way to the deck. Qiao Jinhao floated up.

What level is he? The hooded man mentioned something about Qi Gathering. Is that a cultivation realm name or something else?

With a wave of the cultivator’s hands, the gangway opened up, and a bridge extended down like stairs. There was already a line of fancily dressed nobles waiting at the pier. No one dared to make a sound. There were no dock workers around.

A portly man with a fu manchu stepped up. “Lord Cultivator. This one from Three Whiskers City welcomes—”

“Gather all under twenty-one,” Qiao Jinhai interrupted. “We shall conduct the talent test at the central square before the City God Temple, where the feng shui is the strongest.”

He floated down, and the mortals gasped. Yu Han had to run down the stairs to keep up. He wheezed, looking back at the ship. The coiling azure dragon figurehead stared back. No one was on deck to see him off. By the time they reached the central square, he was coughing and choking.

“Junior Yu,” the cultivator said to him, “this one shall cultivate, as I am close to a breakthrough.”

He waved his hands, and the talent-testing orb appeared from nowhere, perched on a wooden pedestal.

“For all whose talent makes the orb glow, have them wait. Do not touch the orb. Do not let any talent get away. I will ascertain their exact traits on the ship, where eyes are fewer.”

Qiao Jinhai grabbed Yu Han’s shoulder. It was a slight force, not even a pinch, yet Yu Han felt his body about to break apart like glass.

“Do not touch the orb. Do not make me waste my Qi.”

Yu Han tried to nod. His head barely moved. Qiao Jinhai took his hand away, and Yu Han collapsed on all fours, gasping for breath. The cultivator sat down, cross-legged. He held a hexagonal crystal in his hand.

Yu Han pushed against the stone floor of the central market. His hand slipped on moss, and he hit his chin.

“Fu—”

He propped himself up, the straw straps of his sandal biting against his skin. He walked up to the portly guy and barked, “F-form up. One line. We do this fast.”

“Of course, my lord. But we have prepared a grand feast—” The portly man frowned.

“You want to waste Senior Brother’s time? You, a mere mortal, dare?” Yu Han shouted.

“N-no, Lord Cultivator. That wasn’t my intention.”

A line formed. For a city of this size, it was pathetically short, and all the kids were in fancy robes.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Yu Han said. “Did you know what happened to the last city lord who tried to fool Senior Brother Qiao?”

Yu Han slit his neck with his thumb. The portly man paled.

“All. Under. Twenty-one.”

Within the hour, the line extended tenfold. Yu Han watched the orb closely.

“No light. Fail,” he shouted.

“Fail.”

“Fail.”

“Red light.” The crowd gasped. “Pass!”

“You…” Yu Han pointed at a haughty-looking teen. The teen’s eyes lit up. “Fail!”

By the end of the day, five had passed. One was a noble. Qiao Jinhai nodded at the five. By the time they left, the sun had set. Even though many children also took the test, non under fifteen passed either.

Yu Han collapsed onto his bed and awoke in his dreams. He tested out the Echoing Dreamscape Art. He thought of the birds, the cats, the cattle in the city. The portly man, his fu manchu. Qiao Jinhai, the crystal in his hands. Li Yao’s grin. Cleft Lips walking back to his group. The slum girl lighting up with joy when the orb shone red.

The mirages grew clearer. They still stayed for mere seconds, but somehow, they became more solid. More detailed.

Whether it was a person, an object, or an event, Yu Han could replay it here.

“You… fail!” A hand was pointed to a shocked teen. The hand floated mid-air.

Yu Han could visualise himself too. And the details on the hand were exact. The scrapes from the clay jar, the nails, the lines, the clothes.

Was it because Yu Han had spent time memorising the details, or did the Art really reflect reality in the dream without changing details?

“More tests need to be done.”

Yu Han imagined his dad. Then a computer. Then he passed out in his sleep. He didn’t see any dreams that night.

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He woke up with a headache, the same feeling of Qi depletion. But there was no nosebleed, so he didn’t go to the doctor.

+1 True Qi.

+2 Arts True Qi -> Deep Sleep

+10 Arts True Qi -> Echoing Dreamscape

The True Qi to his character progress was the same, as was for Deep Sleep. For Echoing Dreamscape, it was magnitudes lower.

If I imagine scenes Johan saw, I pass out faster. Let’s not try the green meteor again. Just keep the wood, skull, and green fire in mind.

The days continued, as did the tests. Qiao Jinhai should have picked a new assistant after that one city, but he was impressed with Yu Han’s efficiency and had him continue with a promise of future reward. They made it to another city four days later.

“You dare defy Lord Cultivator? You? A mere mortal?”

“All. Under. Twenty-one.”

“Pass!”

“Fail!”

“Fail!”

The days when the ship travelled, Yu Han trained with Li Yao.

“One more! Atta boy. Tubs, at this rate I’ll have to change what I call you,” Li Yao said, then hit the wooden dummy with the wooden sword.

Yu Han collapsed, sweating buckets. He stood up, taking out a rope. It had a knot halfway through. Yu Han wrapped the rope around himself—the end of the rope touched the exact same place it always did.

He ate less. Moved more. Did calisthenics. Why wasn’t he getting thinner?

“You liar,” Yu Han spat.

“I’m motivating you,” Li Yao replied, running a finger over his scar.

Pure Qi Assimilated!

Pure Qi: 10/110

Strength: 4 -> 5

[Body Origin: 5.00 -> 5.20]

“Finally.” Yu Han covered his grin with a sweaty palm. He did a few squats, then some push-ups. He collapsed after two. A great improvement from the half he did at the start of the training!

That night, he grew cocky and tried to visualise the green meteor. He woke up with a nosebleed.

“Are you dreaming of a pretty woman, Tubs? You gotta lose weight first.”

“Eat shit.”

He didn’t get the same +205 True Qi for the trouble.

+11 Arts True Qi -> Echoing Dreamscape

Yu Han splashed his face with cold water.

I passed out, but the True Qi was shit. Is it about variety? I can’t abuse this like a bug.

But there was one more gain.

Clarity 7 -> 8

[Mind Origin: 10.80 -> 11.00]

Without Pure Qi cost? The more he learnt about the system, the more confused he got. He’d decided before to treat the averages as weighted, with all the weights being the same, rather than as simple means. But even now, as more ‘data’ or stats were being added, the weights of each substat remained the same at 0.20.

Were these unweighted after all? Am I overthinking this? No, never forget the six million bucks!

Solving one maths problem gave him the will to push through more physical labour.

Three more cities, and more recruits joined the ship. Yu Han uttered routine words in each city. He trained his body during the day and his Art during the night.

Qiao Jinhai got more irritable as time passed. He cultivated at each chance he got, and more of those hexagonal crystals turned to dust in his palms.

Soon, the morning of his twentieth day in this game-like Xianxia world broke. Yu Han opened his status screen, and then the paper scroll he’d managed to threaten out of a city noble.

Name: Yu Han (Johan)

Level: 0

True Qi: 19 (+18)/110

Pure Qi: 10 (-50)/110

[Body Origin: 5.20 (+.2)]

[Spirit Origin: 7.80]

[Mind Origin: 11.00 (+.2)]

Arts:

[Deep Sleep]

Type: Bloodline

Grade: Mortal Level 1

Mastery: Initial Step Level 1

True Qi: 38 (+36)/200

[Echoing Dreamscape]

Type: Auxiliary

Grade: Mortal Level 9

Mastery: Initial Step Level 2

True Qi: 199 (+194)/300

Nothing else had changed. The + and - numbers in his paper indicated the difference from the first morning of his waking on the ship. It was easier to have some checkpoints.

Not all numbers rose consistently. Some days, he didn’t earn even one True Qi, some days he got two. The ship docked again.

Strangely, Qiao Jinhai stood at the gangway before Yu Han today.

His gaze was locked on a large rock on the river bank. The moment the ship passed the rock, he tapped the rail. A wave spread out from his finger, travelling through the ship. He sighed.

He seemed… relieved?

Yu Han stood quietly by his side. No need to ask questions about matters that didn’t concern him.

The ship docked, and Qiao Jinhai walked down.

As usual, the city nobles awaited on the dock. Each city had its distinct style, with varying architectures, but the houses and buildings here looked more foreign. As did the people. There was a loud gong from the nearby River God Temple.

“Lord Cultivator, it is our pleasure to meet you on this verdant day.” The frontmost noble bowed with a flourish. "Welcome to our humble Goldleaf City.”

Qiao Jinhai smiled and nodded. Something was wrong.

Yu Han glanced back at the ship. At first, he didn’t notice the difference. But then it clicked.

The figurehead’s changed?

There was no more azure dragon. Now it was a bearded old man with emerald eyes, holding a green longsword.

Yu Han followed after the procession. Qiao Jinhai exchanged pleasantries with each noble that approached. They reached the central square. Yu Han frowned, head tilting. Qiao Jinhai had changed. Did he achieve the breakthrough?

“Ah, you’re here,” Qiao Jinhai said, as if finally noticing Yu Han. “No matter. Stand at the side and see to the needs of those that pass.”

Yu Han nodded subserviently.

“Lord Cultivator, shall I gather our sons and daughters?” the city lord asked.

“By the sect’s will. Let us hope the heavens bless the youths of this city.”

“It will be their honour to serve the Verdant Blade Sect.” He bowed.

Yu Han kept his head lowered, but his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Not the Stormy Reef Sect?

His nose twitched. Sweat dripped down from his forehead, dampening the ground. He smelled a scheme.

A line formed. It was short, and every person in line wore fancy clothes. No riff-raff in sight. The first person to touch the orb was a pretty girl with raven hair. Her black eyes were glossy, like marbles. She smiled sweetly, wearing a phoenix hairpin.

The orb shone with orange light. The crowd gasped.

“Your name?” Qiao Jinhai asked, a fond smile on his face.

“Huang Linxue, Lord Cultivator!”

“Ah, the only daughter of City Lord Huang?” Qiao Jinhai nodded. “The scion of a dragon can’t be a snake.”

“Ah…” Huang Linxue looked troubled.

“Is something the matter?” Qiao Jinhai asked. The usual cold edge of his voice returned. He would not accept falsehood.

“Lord Cultivator, if I may.” The city lord spoke up, trying to diffuse the situation. “During my younger days, I was a bit unruly, unfortunately. I have another daughter from a concubine. She turns twenty-one in three days. This one was confused if we should let her be tested.”

“Father, perhaps Sister is better suited to be here, in the city, where she can contribute.”

Both Huangs looked at Qiao Jinhai.

“Rules are rules. Wait on the side, Junior Sister. In the meantime, Junior Brother Yu will explain to you the rules we have for our travel.”

Qiao Jinhai sent Yu Han a glare. Yu Han gestured for her to join him. “Come, come, Senior Sister. There aren’t many rules on the ship, but…”

Yu Han blabbered on. His mind raced, trying to figure out what was going on. Why had Qiao Jinhai’s attitude changed? Why did he not specify to bring “All. Under. Twenty-one.” as usual?

Huang Linxue bit her lip. Her eyes had the same look as when Sima Yan looked at Li Yao.

“It’s the little cowgirl.”

“Wow. No wonder the ninth prince wants her.”

“Ptui, what ninth prince? Heard the lord was saving her as a gift for the emperor.”

In front of the orb stood a girl with a face that vaguely resembled Huang Linxue’s. She was nervous, fidgeting left and right. Similar height to Yu Han. Slightly tanned, with green eyes, pink lips, shoulder-length dark hair. Pretty average face, nothing compared to Huang Linxue’s. She wore shabby serving girl clothes, with dirty hands and muddy feet. Full hips. And a huge bust.

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