I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 3: Choices

Zheng Fa never expected to see Senior Sister Zhang like this—

As he walked toward the backyard of her house, the first thing he heard was a rumbling sound.

Looking up, he saw a white, ribbon-like waterfall cascading down from the cliff on the Ninth Mountain, crashing into the backyard of Senior Sister Zhang’s house.

Sure enough, the moment he stepped through the courtyard gate, a wave of cool mist hit him.

Beneath the waterfall was a small lake, covering about half an acre. By the lakeshore stood a small pavilion.

Senior Sister Zhang sat on the pavilion’s front steps, her plain skirt slightly lifted to her ankles, and her bare jade-like feet playfully swayed in the water.

It was a little beautiful, but also a little insane...

This waterfall was likely formed from the melting snow of the Ninth Mountain. Even from several feet away, Zheng Fa could sense the lake's icy chill.

Inside the pavilion sat another girl, around fifteen or sixteen years old, with a slightly round face. She had been watching Senior Sister Zhang play with the water in boredom, but when she saw Zheng Fa enter, her eyes lit up. She turned to Senior Sister Zhang and called out, “He’s here!”

Zheng Fa took two steps forward and first cupped his hands toward Senior Sister Zhang. “Senior Sister Zhang.”

Then, he turned to the girl beside her and asked, “May I know how to address you, Senior Sister?”

“My surname is Yuan. Just call me Senior Sister Yuan.”

Though she smiled as she spoke, Zheng Fa could tell that her eyes lacked any real warmth.

“Senior Sister Yuan, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Seeing her indifferent expression, Zheng Fa kept his greeting brief.

Senior Sister Zhang turned her head toward him but didn’t stand up. She simply nodded and asked, “I heard you chose Five Thunder Body?”

Zheng Fa was taken aback, thinking she was about to dissuade him, so he prepared to speak.

However, Senior Sister Zhang waved her hand dismissively and said, “I’m not your master, so I won’t interfere with your choices—but Five Thunder Body is a rather special technique.”

“Special?”

“Have you heard that our Nine Mountain Sect once dominated an era thanks to Five Thunder Body?”

“I’ve heard Senior Brother Han mention it.”

“Do you know why?”

“Five Thunder Body greatly enhances the power of lightning talismans…” Zheng Fa recalled what Han Qi had told him.

“It’s not that simple. While Five Thunder Body does amplify the power of talismans, it can be practiced even in the Qi Refining stage, meaning its effects are limited.” Senior Sister Zhang glanced at Zheng Fa and said, “What makes it truly special is that Five Thunder Body is the prerequisite for cultivating one of our sect’s most powerful legacy techniques. Only by mastering Five Thunder Body can one learn this ultimate art.”

“…” Zheng Fa frowned. “Then why has no one managed to cultivate Five Thunder Body in the past thousand years?”

According to Han Qi, Mystic Thunder Stone was rare, but not completely unavailable.

If mastering Five Thunder Body meant gaining access to a supreme legacy technique, the value would be immense.

“Because the materials required for that legacy technique are even harder to obtain.”

“This… Thank you for the guidance, Senior Sister Zhang.”

Zheng Fa understood why she had called him here.

She thought he had chosen Five Thunder Body purely for its strength and was now warning him—if he wanted to truly unleash its full potential, he would need to cultivate the legacy technique as well. ℞À𐌽оΒЕš

However, Zheng Fa wasn’t too concerned. His primary reason for practicing Five Thunder Body was to achieve the Qingyang Dao Physique.

Seeing his expression, Senior Sister Zhang nodded. “As long as you’re aware.”

At this moment, Senior Sister Yuan suddenly spoke up, “Speaking of which, doesn’t the Sect Master cultivate Divine Sky Lightning Art?”

Senior Sister Zhang nodded and, seeing Zheng Fa’s puzzled expression, explained, “Divine Sky Lightning Art is that very legacy technique. At present, only the Sect Master has the qualifications to practice it—well, someone managed to master it a thousand years ago.”

“If you successfully cultivate Five Thunder Body, perhaps the Sect Master will summon you.” Senior Sister Yuan looked at Zheng Fa with a playful smile. “The old man sits high on the Nine Mountains and doesn’t even take disciples. He rarely sees anyone.”

Her tone was clearly joking—she didn’t believe Five Thunder Body held that much influence.

—

After discussing Five Thunder Body, Senior Sister Zhang stood up and looked seriously at Zheng Fa.

Her eyes were calm as she asked softly,

“I once told you that I saw great potential in you. Do you know why?”

Zheng Fa shook his head.

“You obtained Talisman Dao Foundation Method from the Grandmaster, didn’t you?”

At the mention of this, Zheng Fa’s expression turned complicated—he had checked Talisman Dao Foundation Method and Spiritual Mountain Method as soon as he developed his divine sense.

Spiritual Mountain Method was straightforward—it required reaching Qi Refining level seven to begin. Given his current cultivation, it was out of the question.

As for Talisman Dao Foundation Method, he had already heard the Grandmaster describe it as an incomplete technique.

But only after reading it did he realize that “incomplete” was a polite understatement.

The entire technique consisted of just a few hundred words.

The main content could be summarized as follows:

I have a genius idea!

With this idea, I can create an unparalleled foundation-building method!

But I’ve already reached the Nascent Soul stage, so I don’t need it anymore. Can’t be bothered to finish it.

It’s super easy to complete—I even wrote down the theory for you. Future generations, just figure it out yourselves!

What kind of Fermat’s Theorem nonsense was this?!

Seeing his expression, Senior Sister Zhang’s lips curled slightly, as if she completely understood his frustration.

“What do you think of this foundation-building method?”

“...Putting aside the fact that I have no idea how to cultivate it, the concept is indeed incredible.” Zheng Fa thought for a moment and gave a diplomatic answer.

Senior Sister Zhang’s smile deepened.

But his words weren’t just flattery—the Grandmaster’s theory truly broadened his horizons.

The Grandmaster had studied the True Shape Talisman of Mountains and Rivers and noticed that its four talismanic runes seemed to absorb corresponding symbols from the void to sustain their existence.

This led to a bold idea—if one could condense a talismanic pattern in their dantian, wouldn’t it also automatically absorb talismanic power from the void?

Thinking it over, Zheng Fa found this idea somewhat plausible. The process of crafting talismans involved attracting corresponding patterns, and if Senior Sister Zhang was right about talismans being the flow of spiritual energy…

Then Talisman Dao Foundation Method was essentially an automatic cultivation cheat.

More importantly, Senior Sister Zhang had seemingly perfected it and reached the Golden Core stage using it.

She seemed to understand his thoughts as she took out a jade slip. “This is my completed version of Talisman Dao Foundation Method.”

Zheng Fa, catching on quickly, asked, “What would you like me to do, Senior Sister?”

Senior Sister Zhang chuckled and casually tossed him the jade slip.

“？”

“Cultivating this technique is the price you must pay.”

“Huh?”

“Talisman Dao Foundation Method is still incomplete,” Senior Sister Zhang said as she looked at Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa had a vague suspicion. “Senior Sister, you mean…?”

“I used Talisman Dao Foundation Method to establish my foundation, but after forming my Golden Core, I realized there were flaws in it. My cultivation was stuck for ten years—I could only break through by deepening my understanding of the Dao of Talismans.” She spoke frankly. “Now, do you understand why I value you?”

Zheng Fa understood.

If he cultivated this technique, he might end up facing the same predicament as Senior Sister Zhang.

“If you don’t want to cultivate it, you can leave now.” Senior Sister Zhang’s voice was calm, neither urging nor stopping him, her face emotionless.

Zheng Fa squeezed the jade slip in his hand, but he didn’t hesitate for even a breath before looking at her and saying, “I am willing to learn.”

—

Zheng Fa didn’t really have a choice.

After being in the Nine Mountain Sect for so long, he had already figured things out—

As a talisman prodigy, he was valuable, yet at the same time, not.

The talisman masters of the Nine Mountain Sect were somewhat like craftsmen.

The Sect’s Logistics Hall would purchase the talismans that disciples crafted and sell them externally.

If one didn’t want to trade through the Logistics Hall, they could sell their talismans at the marketplace—though, of course, the sect would take a cut of the profits.

From the sect’s perspective, Zheng Fa was certainly valuable. His skills in crafting talismans could generate revenue for the sect.

But to the other disciples, Zheng Fa wasn’t just competition for resources—he was also a competitor in the marketplace. The benefits they could gain from him were far less than the threat he posed to their livelihoods.

This left Zheng Fa in an awkward position within the sect.

Take Zhou Qianyuan, for example. His talent in talismans wasn’t as high as Zheng Fa’s, but thanks to his single spiritual root and Dao physique, he had already been accepted as a disciple by Master Pang. The fact that he had the confidence to publicly humiliate Senior Brother Li in front of so many people spoke volumes about his backing.

Zheng Fa, however, had no one supporting him—except for Senior Sister Zhang, who seemed to be subtly offering him protection.

At the end of the day, there was a clear difference between a cultivation genius and a talisman genius.

A cultivation genius could enter the sect without needing any special skills in talismans.

The higher-ups of the Nine Mountain Sect valued cultivation geniuses because they were the future pillars of the sect—the anchors that would stabilize the sect in times of chaos.

Talisman geniuses, on the other hand, were only valued because they could generate profit for the sect.

People like Senior Sister Zhang, who truly appreciated his talent in talismans, were rare.

Setting aside all the help she had given him in the past, just the fact that she was a powerful backer made her someone Zheng Fa couldn’t afford to lose.

Besides, Talisman Dao Foundation Method was the technique best suited to maximize his talent in talismans.

Hearing his response, Senior Sister Yuan let out a sigh of frustration. She pulled out a deep black mineral stone and handed it to Senior Sister Zhang. “I lost.”

“?”

“I told you—he’s a smart guy.”

Senior Sister Zhang took the stone and casually handed it to Zheng Fa. “Mystic Thunder Stone.”

“……”

Zheng Fa held the stone in his hands.

Senior Brother Han had told him about its price—it cost at least twenty spirit stones and was extremely rare.

Looking at Senior Sister Zhang, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of having found himself a rich benefactor.

“Come sit down.” Senior Sister Zhang gestured for him to join them in the pavilion.

Even though Senior Sister Yuan had just lost a Mystic Thunder Stone, she now looked at Zheng Fa with a much friendlier expression.

Zheng Fa knew—he had finally been accepted into Senior Sister Zhang’s small circle.

—

After chatting for a while, Senior Sister Zhang suddenly asked, “What do you think of the Nine Mountain Sect?”

Zheng Fa was taken aback and couldn’t help but recall when Senior Brother Zhuang had asked him the same question.

“What’s wrong? Hard to answer?” Senior Sister Zhang noticed his strange expression.

“I just remembered Senior Brother Zhuang,” Zheng Fa said, then recounted the things Zhuang had told him.

“Ah, him,” Senior Sister Zhang chuckled. “He’s always like that.”

“…Does he really hate geniuses?”

“…He’s a genius himself. He doesn’t hate you—he just purely wants to destroy all immortal sects.”

“!”

Senior Sister Yuan chimed in, “If you ask me, the most ruthless person in Nine Mountain Sect is none other than Junior Brother Zhuang.”

“Junior Brother Zhuang actually has incredible talent. He was already over thirty when my master found him, far past the prime age for cultivation, but my master still accepted him into the sect,” Senior Sister Zhang explained. “He used one of those rare slots that only become available once every fifty years.”

“…But Senior Brother Zhuang doesn’t seem… that powerful.”

“He’s incredibly lazy when it comes to cultivation. If my master and I hadn’t pressured him, he probably wouldn’t even have reached Foundation Establishment by now.” A trace of helplessness flashed across Senior Sister Zhang’s face. “He… doesn’t want to cultivate, nor does he want to use any cultivation resources.”

Then she added, “Honestly, we don’t dare let him cultivate too much either…”

…Well, that made sense. What a true madman of the cultivation world.

“Do you know what his philosophy is?”

“No idea.”

Zheng Fa was utterly shocked at this point.

“He says that spiritual energy is the poison of this world, and the immortal sects are its great thieves. When spiritual energy is abundant, only one in ten thousand can cultivate. But when it declines, the entire mortal world is dragged into disaster because of the immortal sects,” Senior Sister Zhang said. “He believes that without immortal sects, the mortal world would be free from these endless calamities.”

…That actually made a lot of sense!

When there was spiritual energy, most people couldn’t cultivate and reap its benefits. But when it disappeared, the masses had to suffer alongside the immortal sects.

This theory… aside from the fact that it was insanely radical, there weren’t any major flaws in it.

—

Back at his residence, Zheng Fa sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, circulating his spiritual power according to Five Thunder Body. The Mystic Thunder Stone in his hand emitted faint sparks of electricity, making his body twitch involuntarily.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked down at the stone.

The black color seemed to have faded slightly.

One Mystic Thunder Stone was far from enough to complete his cultivation of Five Thunder Body.

But it did have one crucial use—it allowed him to gauge the amount of electricity he needed.

Five Thunder Body seemed crude in its approach—electrocuting oneself, then using spiritual power and medicinal herbs to nourish and strengthen the body in the process.

But in reality, it was incredibly precise. The technique was divided into five stages—tempering the skin, refining the flesh, strengthening the bones, replacing the blood, and finally, drawing heavenly lightning to temper the body.

Each stage required carefully channeling different intensities of thunder energy into the body through a Mystic Thunder Stone. The process was likely filled with the painful experiences of countless predecessors who had been electrocuted to near death.

For Zheng Fa, the big problem was that modern electricity didn’t respond to spiritual power.

He had to figure out the right voltage for each stage.

Too low, and it wouldn’t work.

Too high, and… well, there’d be no future to worry about.

One Mystic Thunder Stone wouldn’t be enough to master Five Thunder Body, but it was enough for him to familiarize himself with how each stage should feel.

—

In the modern world, Zheng Fa stared at the electrical socket in his room, feeling a bit hesitant.

Starting with 220V right away seemed like a death wish.

He thought for a moment, then took out a power bank.

He cut off one end of a charging cable, exposing the copper wires, then plugged the other end into the power bank’s 5V output.

Carefully, he placed his fingers on the exposed wires.

Hmm… A little tingly, but not strong enough!

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