Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 116 - 22 Late Arrival

Chapter 116: Chapter 22 Late Arrival

As a Golden Core cultivator, she could easily take this small building in one palm strike.

But she used her divine skills not, opting instead to rely on her arms to embrace.

Trip after trip, running up and down without feeling tired, her expression enigmatically pleased and joyful.

It was obvious that the gifts weren’t from just one person.

The various kinds of food were one thing,

but there were also Spirit Talismans, elixirs, and handicrafts.

What Zheng Fa found hardest to accept were—probably from some ready-to-wear shop, several dresses had been sent over.

It seemed like they were delivered to the wrong person.

"Zhang, why don’t you take this dress back and wear it?"

Zhang reached out and picked up the dress closest to her.

Only when the hem unfolded in front of Zheng Fa did he see clearly that the design of the dress was quite ingenious—

The parts that shouldn’t be covered were tightly sealed and conservative.

The parts that should be covered had no fabric at all.

Zhang just quietly watched Zheng Fa, silent, but her gaze was extremely sharp.

Zheng Fa pursed his lips and said dryly, "Cough, I’ll take it back... I’ll go back!"

He was quite shocked internally—Who says cultivators of the Xuanwei Realm are conservative? Aren’t their thoughts quite open?

Can’t you just send it in secret?

There weren’t actually many items. It only took Yuan three trips to move everything.

The value also didn’t seem high—after all, the gift-givers weren’t very rich.

But Zheng Fa and the other two stood silently around the pile of gifts for a long while, until Zhang finally spoke:

"The Guiding Ship, it cannot stop."

Zheng and the other person nodded slightly.

...

Han Qi and his two companions, with their mouths full, strolled slowly through the workshop market.

"Senior brother, is it my imagination? Why do I feel like there are even less quarrels in the market today?" the tall thin one swallowed a mouthful of cakes and said puzzledly.

Han Qi was not surprised; he smiled and explained, "Being able to make money, having something to look forward to, naturally everyone’s resentment diminishes."

The tall thin one nodded, not sure if he understood, his gaze shifted to a few senior brothers at the street corner, his tone somewhat resentful: "It was them who were talking nonsense before, now they are eating well!"

"No matter." Han Qi’s face held no anger but instead took on a relaxed tone: "There’s no need to be angry over these people, Zheng as Master Zheng’s apprentice, isn’t something that can be tarnished by their few words."

"True!" The tall thin one thought about it and his spirits lifted again: "Zheng has Zhang as a senior above and has won the hearts of people below, now he has the momentum, and in the future in this workshop, things should be stable."

"Zhang?" Unexpectedly, Han Qi’s tone was a bit strange: "With Zheng’s abilities and talent, concerning who really dominates this workshop between Zheng or Zhang, it’s really hard to say."

...

"I want to take Zheng Fa as my disciple!" Master Pang’s expression was resolute, as if he had made up his mind.

Zhou Qianyuan looked at his own master, wanting to speak, but dared not.

Then he turned to look at his senior brother Sun Daoyu beside him and noticed a hint of reluctance on Sun Daoyu’s face as well.

Zhou Qianyuan had no complaints about Zheng Fa himself, and he even admired Zheng Fa’s talismanic Dao achievements.

He could even afford to treat Zheng Fa with the respect due to a master.

A bit of face and status, he did not care about.

But...the meaning behind the master wanting to accept Zheng Fa was different.

It might affect his own future path to obtaining a Nascent Soul.

Given how much importance his master showed to Zheng Fa now, those spiritual materials previously accumulated for him might all be given to Zheng Fa.

How could he accept this?

As for why senior brother Sun was rather reluctant, he could understand somewhat.

Senior brother Sun’s past interactions with Zheng Fa were not pleasant, and there had been actions wanting to seize the Immortal Item.

Thinking more utilitarian, senior brother Sun had taken great care of him before, and had also given much.

If master took Zheng Fa as a disciple, wouldn’t all that previous effort have been in vain?

But Master Pang is a Nascent Soul real person, his decision was not something they could dissent.

Seeming to notice their reluctance, Master Pang glanced at them and said:

"Do you think I’m overvaluing Zheng Fa?"

The two exchanged a look, then bowed their heads and said, "Disciples dare not disobey the Master’s orders."

"If Zheng Fa was just a little talented, I really wouldn’t insist on taking him as a disciple, after all, he was brought in by nephew Zhang..." Master Pang explained, "Do I really lack such a disciple?"

"Then?"

"How could he hinder me, a Nascent Soul real person?"

Master Pang laughed a bit coldly.

"But why are you now..."

"It’s because you’re too foolish!" Master Pang looked at them, frowning and scolding: "I said before not to care about the manipulation from below, you can compete, but there must be limits, and now? Two branches are like fire and water, I can suppress it now, but what about later?"

...

Sun Daoyu’s face turned red and white.

The conflict between the two branches had gone too far, indeed against Master Pang’s intentions.

He and Zhang’s Master Master Huang merely had differences in philosophy.

But the disciples below first argued over philosophies, then over resources, and later on, it was unclear what they were even fighting over anymore.

Over the decades, these old grievances had accumulated, and now it was very difficult to clarify right and wrong.

On the other hand, it was also the inaction, or even the exacerbation, of these mid-level disciples that led to this.

"Qianyuan, tell me, can you compare to Nephew Zhang?"

Zhou Qianyuan lowered his head in shame: "Disciple... lacks confidence."

Upon arriving at the Jiushan Sect, the more he understood about Zhang, the more he realized how formidable she was.

Her temperament and abilities were certainly unmatched among the next generation of disciples.

Even her status in the sect was not lower than that of our own master.

"Now that Zheng Fa has arrived, with his high talent and now winning the hearts of the lower disciples," Master Pang sighed, "With him joining forces with Nephew Zhang, will there be a place for you all in the future?"

"Disciple is incompetent..."

Sun Daoyu and another bowed their heads.

Master Pang shook his head and sighed deeply: "That Master Huang is so lucky to have found Nephew Zhang, and now Zheng Fa has arrived! If you want a better future, the best way is to take Zheng Fa under our wing."

Sun Daoyu slowly nodded, understanding Master Pang’s intention, and pondered: "Disciple Zheng is so formidable; if he joins our branch, the balance of power between the two branches will stabilize, and we will have no worries."

Master Pang looked beyond the mountains, seemingly observing something, then suddenly said to the two: "Not just that, given his relationship with Nephew Zhang... we might even resolve the disputes between our two branches in the future."

"Master?"

"The Hundred Immortals Alliance has already started to show signs of disorder..." Master Pang glanced at the two: "Do you both understand?"

After parting from Master Pang, both Zhou Qianyuan and Sun Daoyu remained silent, Zhou Qianyuan felt stifled, while Sun Daoyu seemed thoughtful.

When they parted, it seemed as if he saw the displeasure in Zhou Qianyuan’s heart.

Sun Daoyu spoke, "Master is so concerned about us; even if he values Zheng Fa in the future, he will consider your well-being, don’t worry."

"Yes, thank you, Brother Sun."

Zhou Qianyuan felt a bit better upon hearing this and respectfully bowed in gratitude.

"Brother Zhou is too polite."

"Hmm?"

...

Zheng Fa sat on a cushion in the study, swallowing a newly purchased Yuan Condensing Pill, preparing to condense his third Primordial Talisman.

The spirit stones used to buy this pill were earned through the Guiding Ship—although Han Qi and his colleagues were no longer setting up a stall, they were still selling Spirit Talismans for Zheng Fa.

Among those talismans on the ship were some newly drawn by Zheng Fa.

In the Jiushan Sect, these talismans could probably sell for about ten spirit stones.

But in other workshops, they could fetch twenty spirit stones—Jiushan Sect’s talisman masters were too competitive, significantly lowering the prices of Xuan-grade talismans.

For the selection of this Primordial Talisman, Zheng Fa had many more options than before.

Since discovering the Five Elements Child Talisman and having such a top-tier laboratory like Zhang, they had researched many talismanic diagrams with Yin Yang Five Elements properties.

Especially now, he was about to condense a Yin Water Element Primordial Talisman—Zhang was likely a Water Spirit Root, and she researched water element spirit talismans the most.

Among nearly hundreds of choices, he decided to condense a talisman called the Nourishing Spirit Talisman.

This talisman’s main effect was simple: nourishing the divine soul and repairing mental disorders.

This was prepared for Tang Lingwu’s mother.

Not to mention the relationship that had built up between them, but the discovery of the Five Elements Child Talisman.

Of course, the biggest credit should go to Old Man Bai.

But Tang Lingwu also played an indispensable role—at least she genuinely contributed financially.

On another note, Zheng Fa felt that if the Nourishing Spirit Talisman proved useful for Tang Lingwu’s mother, it could be extremely valuable in the modern world.

He saw clearly that, besides speeding up his own cultivation, the "Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method."

Its most significant potential lay in the modern world.

Spirit Talismans, after all, were a common thing in the Xuanwei Realm, not too rare, making Primordial Talismans condensed through the "Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method" unlikely to achieve a deciding effect.

But it was different in the modern world.

This thing would allow him to use spells in the modern era!

Following this line of thought, the selection of runes did not need too much lethality; some less powerful supporting spirit talismans would be more effective instead.

Zheng Fa had two principles for selecting Primordial Talismans:

First, to enhance his ability to protect himself—like the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman.

This was to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Second, to solve some issues that modern science couldn’t entirely address—like the Nourishing Spirit Talisman.

This was to secure more resources for the future.

His divine sense entered his Dantian, and quickly, he condensed the Nourishing Spirit Talisman.

After the appearance of the Nourishing Spirit Talisman, it immediately aligned with the previously formed Right Stand No Shadow Talisman and Frost Blade Talisman, looking unified.

...

Modern day, at Old Man Bai’s house.

Today, as Tang Lingwu walked to Old Man Bai’s house from the classroom, she suddenly said she had something to attend to, asking Zheng Fa to go ahead and that she would be a bit late.

But she was more than just a little late.

When Tang Lingwu arrived, it was already over an hour later.

What concerned Zheng Fa and the others more was that Tang Lingwu’s face had some water stains, as if she had washed her face.

Upon closer inspection, her eyes were slightly red.

Old Man Bai abruptly stood up, his face angry: "Have you been crying? Were you bullied on the way here?"

Zheng Fa also walked over, quite worried but with a slightly different guess.

"No..." Tang Lingwu sniffled, her voice sounding nasal and heavy: "Teacher, I might not come to the classes anymore."