I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 21: The Hearts of Men

Zheng Fa had no idea that overnight, two Nascent Soul cultivators of Jiushan Sect had been discussing his name.

After returning home, he focused entirely on his cultivation.

Since adjusting the True Form Shadowless Talisman and Frost Blade Talisman, his cultivation had become noticeably smoother. He could faintly sense that he was on the verge of breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining.

Zheng Fa had studied the cultivation speed of various spiritual roots.

The difference between single spiritual roots and dual spiritual roots was significant—

Generally speaking, a cultivator with a single spiritual root could reach the tenth level of Qi Refining and attempt Foundation Establishment in about a year.

However, for someone like Zheng Fa, who had dual spiritual roots, even with diligence, it would take three to five years to reach the tenth level of Qi Refining.

If they were burdened with making a living and other responsibilities, spending eight to nine years was not uncommon.

This was the norm—disciples with a single spiritual root were often supported by a master and only needed to focus on cultivation. In contrast, dual spiritual root cultivators rarely received such treatment.

Reaching the tenth level of Qi Refining was just one hurdle—Foundation Establishment required the Foundation Establishment Pill, which was scarce and expensive.

For Qi Refining disciples, purchasing such a pill was nearly impossible; it often took years of painstaking savings.

Considering this, achieving Foundation Establishment within ten years was extremely difficult.

Jiushan Sect only provided its entry-level disciples with ten years of stipends, which was barely enough for dual spiritual root disciples—let alone those with three or four spiritual roots.

This ten-year period was essentially a narrow window for dual spiritual root cultivators. For those with lower aptitude, there wasn’t even a sliver of hope.

Take Han Qi, for example, a disciple with three spiritual roots. When he first joined, he still dreamed of reaching Foundation Establishment.

But over time, disciples like him found themselves struggling just to survive in the sect.

Foundation Establishment? That was nothing more than an unrealistic childhood dream.

Most low-ranking disciples were either numb or resentful, just like Han Qi.

However, Zheng Fa's cultivation speed far exceeded that of an average dual spiritual root cultivator—he was only slightly slower than those with a single spiritual root.

For example, Zhou Qianyuan had reached the second level of Qi Refining in just a little over thirty days.

Zheng Fa had taken forty to fifty days.

At first, he didn’t understand why.

But after observing himself, he figured it out.

One reason was, of course, the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method. Based on his estimates, his absorption of spiritual energy was about 20-30% faster than that of an average dual spiritual root cultivator.

The other reason was modern life.

Modern times had no spiritual energy, but Zheng Fa had always been diligent. He cultivated the Crimson Sky Technique daily, even though there was no actual spiritual energy to absorb. Ɍà₦o͍𐌱ĚŞ

At first, it was just a habit. But later, he discovered an unexpected benefit—though he couldn’t increase his spiritual energy in the modern world, he was refining it, laying an exceptionally solid foundation.

Other cultivators had to pause and adjust to the surge of spiritual energy before continuing their breath circulation.

But Zheng Fa didn’t need to—whenever he was in the Xuanwei Realm, he could simply charge ahead at full speed.

He had a feeling that even without mastering the Yuan Talisman Foundation, he might still be able to match Zhou Qianyuan's cultivation speed.

As he continued cultivating, he suddenly felt a surge in his dantian, a sensation of fullness spreading from within.

Through inner vision, he saw his dantian overflowing with spiritual energy. Compared to the gentle trickle when he first started cultivating, his energy now surged like a roaring river.

He had reached the third level of Qi Refining.

Zheng Fa opened his eyes, a faint smile appearing on his lips. A small celebration, of sorts.

After all, he was surrounded by Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan, who were Golden Core cultivators.

Even among the marketplace disciples, there were plenty of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Breaking through Qi Refining levels didn’t seem like much.

People probably wouldn’t even bother to notice.

—

"Zheng Fa broke through!"

On the Eighth Peak of Jiushan Sect, Master Pang Zhenren gazed toward Zheng Fa’s courtyard with silver light flashing in his eyes, exclaiming as if witnessing something extraordinary.

"A genius! His talent is truly remarkable!"

"Um… Master, I broke through recently too," Zhou Qianyuan stood beside him and softly reminded.

"You broke through too?"

Master Pang blinked and glanced at him before curling his lips.

"The third level of Qi Refining? What’s there to talk about?"

Zhou Qianyuan: "…?"

—

The next day, Zheng Fa couldn’t afford to spend the whole day cultivating.

The escort ship that had been sent out had returned.

There were quite a few people aboard—it had visited three nearby sects and two loose cultivator marketplaces, bringing back over a hundred people.

With so many new customers arriving at once, the marketplace suddenly became much busier.

For two days straight, Zheng Fa stayed at the market, working alongside Senior Sister Yuan to manage various issues:

Some merchants, seeing that these customers weren’t sect members, tried to scam them.

Some people had only come for a free ride—they couldn’t afford anything but still loitered and caused trouble.

Some merchants, initially skeptical of Zheng Fa’s ideas, sold out their goods but then begged him for help restocking.

The whole marketplace was in chaos.

Not just Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Yuan—even the on-duty disciples were running back and forth without rest.

When the wave of customers finally left, the others could finally take a break.

But Zheng Fa remained busy—he had to calculate the escort ship's earnings from the trip.

"This trip brought in around twenty spirit stones in taxes, plus the profits from talisman resales—a total of about fifty spirit stones."

After finishing his calculations, Zheng Fa turned to Senior Sister Yuan, who was waiting beside him.

"The rental fees can't be changed for now."

The spirit stones they earned from the escort ship mainly came from two sources: reselling talismans at a markup and transaction taxes.

The tax rates varied depending on the type of transaction, but on average, they ranged between 10% and 20%.

Senior Sister Yuan was delighted to hear the numbers. "Two trips per month—that’s a hundred spirit stones a month!"

"Senior Sister, we still need to deduct the ship’s operating costs, wages for the crew members, and bonuses for the marketplace disciples who have been working tirelessly these past two days."

"...How much will that be?"

Zheng Fa wasn’t entirely sure, but after a rough estimate, he replied, "Our net profit will be around twenty spirit stones."

"That's... a little low."

Zheng Fa nodded.

It wasn’t just about the amount.

The real issue was that everyone had worked so hard, but the results seemed underwhelming—there would inevitably be complaints.

—

Han Qi and his two companions were heading toward the marketplace for patrol duty.

They were now considered under Zheng Fa’s command and officially part of the marketplace disciples.

Along the way, they encountered several other disciples also heading to the market—some of whom they had grown familiar with during the escort trip.

As they walked together, casual chatter filled the air.

"Have you heard? After all that effort, we only made twenty spirit stones."

"...I don't think this escort ship business will last long," one disciple scoffed.

"We worked our asses off, forced to smile and bow the whole trip, and then we came back exhausted... for just twenty spirit stones? We could’ve made that doing something else!"

Others chimed in, grumbling. Though they spoke in hushed voices, Han Qi and his companions heard everything.

An awkward silence fell over the trio.

After all, they saw themselves as Zheng Fa’s men.

Even though the others didn’t mention names, it was obvious who they were complaining about.

The tall and thin disciple opened his mouth, about to retort, but Han Qi tugged his sleeve to stop him.

Their pace slowed, and they watched as the other disciples walked further ahead.

"Senior Brother, why didn't you let me curse them out?"

"...Did they say anything wrong?" Han Qi shot him a look. "What exactly were you going to curse them for?"

"..."

"Besides, in front of Junior Brother Zheng, they act all respectful."

"Bastards hiding daggers behind their smiles!" the tall disciple cursed bitterly.

"Junior Brother Zheng is still too young and low-ranked," Han Qi sighed. "These people fear him, but only because of Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan. Deep down, most of them resent him."

"But Junior Brother Zheng made them money!"

"He did, but with such a big operation…" Han Qi sighed again. "They probably think that if they were in charge, they could have earned even more."

The tall disciple fell silent.

Han Qi continued, "Besides, the escort ship can’t always go to the same place. This trip was nearby, but what about the farther destinations? The profits would be even lower."

"Then… will Senior Sister Zhang blame Junior Brother Zheng?"

"Blame him? No." Han Qi frowned. "But whether this business continues… that’s another story."

A heavy mood settled over them.

—

With uneasy thoughts, Han Qi and his companions arrived at the marketplace.

The moment they stepped in, something felt different.

"Senior Brother! You’ve worked hard these past two days—have a meat pie!"

As they passed a meat pie stall, the vendor grinned and handed them three steaming hot pies.

"You guys skipped breakfast, right? Here, have a jujube cake to hold you over!"

"Too much food will make you thirsty—have some water!"

They barely walked one street before their arms were stuffed with food.

And it wasn’t just them—other marketplace disciples who had arrived earlier were also receiving all kinds of gifts.

A group of disciples stood frozen, stunned by the unexpected warmth from the vendors.

None of them could figure out why the stall owners were being so generous.

"Senior Brother… wasn’t it that in the past, when vendors saw us, they avoided us like the plague? Now they're acting like this…?"

Han Qi blinked, then suddenly laughed.

"The marketplace didn’t make much money, but the vendors did!"

"...Huh?"

Han Qi turned, looking toward the marketplace management building.

Inside, Senior Sister Zhang sat with a smile, speaking to Zheng Fa.

"Before today, there were vacant stalls that no one wanted to rent. Now? People are fighting over them."

"Not just that…" She gave Zheng Fa a meaningful look. "The most important thing is the hearts of the people."

Then, with a determined expression, she declared:

"The escort ship must continue—profit or no profit!"

Zheng Fa nodded.

He understood exactly what Senior Sister Zhang meant.

Among the entire Jiushan Sect, the most disadvantaged were these low-ranking disciples—and most of the vendors came from this group.

This single escort trip had allowed nearly every vendor to make a profit.

To Zheng Fa and the sect’s upper ranks, the money wasn’t much.

But for these stall owners, it was equivalent to a month’s worth of earnings.

For Senior Sister Zhang, convincing Jiushan Sect’s leadership to share more resources with the lower ranks was impossible—nor would she even try.

But bringing in customers from other sects and marketplaces to spend money?

That was like taking a slice from someone else's cake and handing it to Jiushan’s disciples.

And that? That was something worth doing—as much as possible.

—

At that moment, Senior Sister Yuan came up from the first floor, carrying a pile of gifts.

She looked completely bewildered.

"Junior Brother Zheng… these were left at the door by the vendors."

She struggled to hold up the stack of items, her voice incredulous.

"And there’s so much more downstairs—I couldn’t carry it all!"

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