I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 17: The First Law

Zheng Fa stared at the structure Old Bai was pointing at.

Calling it a symbol wasn’t quite accurate—it was part of a three-dimensional form.

As Old Bai had said, it was a structure, but only a partial one.

If he had to draw a comparison, it was like a radical in a Chinese character—a fundamental component of something larger.

Except these symbols were three-dimensional, far more complex than flat characters on a page.

Zheng Fa scrolled through the other talisman diagrams on the screen.

Sure enough, in this batch of results, most of the water-aligned talismans contained this structure—only once, but always present.

“Water element…”

The discovery pointed to an intriguing hypothesis—

A talisman’s elemental classification might be determined by the presence of certain sub-structures.

It was still too early to confirm, but at least it gave him a direction.

"Let’s check the metal, wood, fire, and earth talismans!"

He compiled the remaining element-aligned talismans and sent them to Han Xiaobai.

Looking at the time, he added, "Sorry for the late request. This must be a hassle for you."

"Late?" Han Xiaobai shot back almost instantly.

"You know nothing about cultivation."

…Okay, but I do know a little.

Old Bai had stopped yawning.

Now fully alert, he stood beside Zheng Fa, studying the water-element talismans with him.

Some diagrams didn’t immediately appear to contain the structure—but after some topological transformations, the pattern became evident.

Zheng Fa sketched the structure on a piece of paper and wrote "Water" beside it.

“The more I look at this, the more fascinating it gets… You said talisman diagrams represent the flow of spiritual energy?” Old Bai suddenly asked.

“That’s what my senior sister told me,” Zheng Fa corrected. “But I think it makes sense.”

At the very least, if Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Technique could accelerate his cultivation, then talismans had to be fundamentally linked to spiritual energy.

“Different flow patterns producing different effects…” Old Bai shook his head. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”

Zheng Fa nodded and raised two more questions:

1. If this sub-structure determines elemental alignment, what purpose do the other parts of the talisman serve?
2. Is Yin-Yang classification also determined by a structural pattern?

“…”

Old Bai froze, then shot him a helpless look.

“How should I know? I’m just an old man—I’ve never even seen spiritual energy in my life!”

…Your status in Xuanwei Realm would suggest otherwise.

Time passed.

By the time Tang Lingwu’s phone alarm rang for the third time, Han Xiaobai had finally finished processing the other elemental talismans.

Unfortunately, the results were somewhat disappointing—

Either the algorithm wasn’t precise enough, or there simply weren’t enough sample diagrams for the remaining elements.

They had only identified the corresponding structure for Earth.

The other three—Metal, Wood, and Fire—yielded no clear results.

“Even this much is lucky.”

Seeing Tang Lingwu’s slight disappointment, Zheng Fa reassured her, “These things take time. We’ll keep working on it tomorrow.”

He had always approached research with patience.

Cultivation could take hundreds, even thousands of years.

There was no point in rushing.

Tang Lingwu slowly nodded.

She glanced at her phone, then waved goodbye before heading downstairs.

Zheng Fa’s hearing had long surpassed that of ordinary people.

He clearly heard her descending footsteps, the sound of her car engine starting—

And, even more distinctly, her mother’s raised voice.

A harsh reprimand.

Followed by Tang Lingwu’s silent, unyielding response.

The Next Day, Classroom.

After physics class, Zheng Fa put away his test paper and picked up a workbook.

Studying, but not solving problems.

At this stage, he had enough confidence in high school-level material that he no longer needed to write out solutions.

Most questions, he could glance at and immediately recognize the testing concept and solving method.

A quick check of the answer key—and if it matched his expectations, he moved on.

Zheng Fa felt like his available study time was shrinking by the day.

The only time he could dedicate to modern academics was during class and short breaks.

So he had optimized his method to be as efficient as possible.

Ironically, rather than lowering his academic ambitions, his goals had only become more ambitious.

He had once told Mr. Chen he aimed for Jiangnan University.

Now, he was setting his sights on Jingcheng University.

If he wanted to establish a cultivation research lab, he had to go where the top talent was.

In modern society, most people only had a few chances to meet truly elite experts in various fields.

Attending a prestigious university was one of the easiest ways to do it.

Most people didn’t even realize it—but the professor they met in college might be the most influential person they’d ever have access to in their entire life.

“Zheng Fa?”

A soft voice called from behind him.

“Hm?” He turned to see Wang Chen.

“…That physics test. Full marks again?”

Wang Chen was staring at him.

“Yeah.” Zheng Fa nodded lightly.

In high school physics, at least, he did have some natural talent.

Most of his physics exams ranked first in the class.

“And you’re still studying during breaks?” Wang Chen sighed, gesturing at the countdown timer displayed at the front of the classroom. “I look at that thing and get stressed—but you? Nothing. Not a single worry.”

Zheng Fa: “…”

Before he could respond, Tang Lingwu walked over from the front row, holding a thick notebook.

“Hm?”

“I was reviewing in class and I think I found the structural pattern for Metal-aligned talismans.”

She placed the notebook in front of him and flipped it open.

Zheng Fa momentarily envied her ability to ignore lessons entirely.

Flipping through the pages, he saw countless talisman diagrams, neatly arranged in rows and columns.

Each one was marked with a small circle—highlighting a repeating structure.

He glanced at the dark circles under her eyes and frowned slightly.

Lowering his voice, he asked, “What time did you go to bed last night?”

He strongly suspected she had pulled an all-nighter working on this.

Tang Lingwu didn’t answer.

She simply waved him off, flicked her ponytail, and wobbled back to her seat—where she immediately collapsed onto her desk and fell asleep.

“What’s this?”

Wang Chen, who had crept up beside him, peered at the notebook curiously.

“…”

“It’s hard to explain,” Zheng Fa said after a moment.

“…I see.”

Wang Chen rubbed his chin, glancing between Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu.

Then, suddenly, his face lit up in understanding.

“I see!”

“?”

Wang Chen clapped Zheng Fa on the shoulder, looking impressed.

“Only you two could pull this off—academic prodigies really do know how to have fun!”

Zheng Fa frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve seen enough spy movies to recognize an encrypted notebook when I see one,” Wang Chen said smugly.

“…You’re overthinking it.”

Just then, a very shiny forehead appeared behind Wang Chen.

Wang Chen’s face paled.

Mr. Chen.

His eyes swept over the notebook, then turned to Zheng Fa.

“Let me see that.”

Zheng Fa handed it over.

Mr. Chen examined the densely packed talismans.

Then looked at Zheng Fa.

Then at Tang Lingwu.

His expression changed.

Zheng Fa had just seen this sequence of expressions on Wang Chen.

Without a word, Mr. Chen placed the notebook back on Zheng Fa’s desk, gave him a very meaningful look, and walked away.

“…Do you think Mr. Chen also overthought things?” Wang Chen whispered.

“…”

Zheng Fa had no words.

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