Artisan Zhao got straight to the point. "As a rogue cultivator, practicality must come first. So, back to my earlier question: how many years of effort and how great a price do you intend to spend learning my String-Puppet Theater? What level do you want to reach? And once you've learned it, how will you put it to use and make it worth the cost?"
At Artisan Zhao's words, what came to Li Chen's mind was not the affairs of this world, but his experiences in his previous life, moving from place to place in pursuit of learning and teaching himself various programming languages and technologies.
Looking back, even the details of those memories had begun to blur, but the stumbles along the way were impossible to forget.
Li Chen did not consider himself lazy or dull, but his learning had indeed been scattered, his professional skills unrefined. Moreover, he came from an ordinary background and seldom had access to resources beyond his own abilities.
Unwilling to have his labor exploited by others, he had sought financial freedom, only for unforeseen storms to strike and his project to die in the womb.
Given a fresh start in this world, he had learned his lesson. First, he mastered the Swarm of Bees Technique as his capital for advancement, then distanced himself from aristocratic clans and sects, choosing to become a lone rogue cultivator in the wilds.
Even so, as he cultivated and worked to improve himself, he still faced many difficult choices.
Life's encounters offered no absolutely correct answers. One might choose a road only to find that it did not lead to the destination one wanted, and ultimately have to look back in regret and choose another path.
Yet some people were born fortunate, with others to guide and support