Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 128 - 33 Expulsion_2

Chapter 128: Chapter 33 Expulsion_2

"Qianyuan? Are you willing?"

Master Pang did not respond to Zheng Fa’s question, but instead asked Zhou Qianyuan.

It was Zhou Qianyuan who, although stunned for a moment, seemed to have a rather disheartened feeling as he simply nodded and said in a muffled voice, "Willing."

"I wonder if you, my nephew, think highly of my disciple."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa knew he could not refuse.

At this moment, he came to understand Master Pang’s intention—Zhou Qianyuan’s favored status in the Jiushan Sect was nearly common knowledge.

Placing Zhou Qianyuan by his side could be seen as Master Pang’s support for him as the Sect Leader’s disciple.

This was somewhat akin to the presence of numerous loyal ministers’ children by the side of the Crown Prince in ancient dynasties—over time, these people would become the Prince’s Party.

Watching Zheng Fa take Zhou Qianyuan down the mountain,

Sun Daoyu couldn’t help but ask, "Master, are you truly letting Junior Zhou follow Zheng Fa?"

"What else? He’s backed by a powerful force!"

Master Pang looked at his own disciple and hummed.

"Powerful force?"

"Do you not understand what it means for this youngster to go around giving out Nephew Zhang’s ’Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method’?"

"Does it mean that he has a good relationship with Sister Zhang?"

"It means he has the Sect Leader, a certain Huang, and Nephew Zhang all behind him! Even if I had three heads and six arms, it wouldn’t be enough to fight back!"

When Sun Daoyu heard this, he bared his teeth, seemingly imagining the scene of his master being ganged up on.

"I just don’t understand. I originally thought that between Zheng Fa and Nephew Zhang, Nephew Zhang was in charge..." Master Pang frowned and said, "But today, it seems that it’s actually Zheng Fa who takes the lead."

Only then did Sun Daoyu realize that his Master was letting Zhou Qianyuan follow Zheng Fa indeed because Zheng Fa was now the prevailing trend.

"What about Junior Zhou..." Thinking of Zhou Qianyuan’s demeanor from earlier, Sun Daoyu worriedly said, "I fear he might feel abandoned by Master."

"Hasn’t he been doing poorly recently?" Master Pang suddenly asked.

Sun Daoyu lowered his head, not daring to answer.

"Indeed, I intended to take Zheng Fa as my disciple and neglected him; he probably felt unhappy," Master Pang seemed to see through it all, "These past few days, have your fellow disciples thought he had fallen out of favor and intentionally ostracized him?"

"Master is insightful, Junior Zhou doesn’t put much stock in sect distinctions, often running to Zheng Fa’s place, which has angered many fellow brothers and sisters in the past, and these days..." Sun Daoyu honestly admitted, "he has indeed suffered quite a bit."

"That’s why I sent him to Zheng Fa’s side first."

"Does Master mean to separate him from those fellow disciples?"

Master Pang nodded, but then suddenly spoke of Zheng Fa, "With Nephew Zhang supporting Zheng Fa like this, but if he truly wants to secure the position of future Sect Leader—he’ll have to see if he can treat our lineage impartially and win over those fellow disciples."

"Ah? So Junior Zhou is a test of Zheng’s attitude towards Junior Zhou?" Sun Daoyu suddenly realized.

"Qianyuan already lacks any sect bias among my disciples..." Master Pang shook his head, "To aim for unity and harmony between two lineages is something neither I nor Nephew Zhang have accomplished; I want to see if he can."

"What if he can’t?"

"Then if Qianyuan suffers grievances under Zheng Fa, he will know that I, as his Master, have not treated him poorly," Master Pang said with a smile, "This way he’ll learn to respect and value the teachings again. As for the position of future Sect Leader—dreams are long in the night, who can tell?"

...

After descending the Eighth Peak, Zheng Fa looked back at Zhou Qianyuan, who still appeared listless.

"Junior Zhou, what’s happened to you?"

He asked Zhou Qianyuan.

Zhou Qianyuan shook his head, as if unwilling to answer his question, and merely said dryly, "Is there anything you wish to instruct, Senior Brother?"

"I wouldn’t dare to instruct. How about this: I’m visiting Sister Zhang tomorrow, come with me."

Zhou Qianyuan nodded, didn’t ask anything further, and just numbly clasped hands in farewell to Zheng Fa before turning away and leaving.

Watching his retreating figure, Zheng Fa furrowed his brows.

This man’s state was somewhat familiar to him—it was just like those idealistic youths who first entered society only to be beaten down by brutal reality.

...

The following day.

Zhou Qianyuan couldn’t fall asleep early.

He didn’t get out of bed either, just lay there with his eyes open, silently staring into space.

When the time came for his meeting with Zheng Fa, he finally pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped out.

The area where he lived was filled with disciples from Master Pang’s lineage, including several senior brothers who used to be quite enthusiastic, making Zhou Qianyuan feel quite comfortable.

But things had not been so good recently.

He walked briskly with his head slightly bowed, under the various gazes of his senior brothers.

These senior brothers didn’t say anything, but he understood the meaning behind their glances—

After the Sect Leader bestowed the thousand-year-old purple bamboo tears upon Zheng Fa, these people viewed him with a hint of ridicule and lacked their previously familiar warmth.

Zhou Qianyuan clenched his teeth as he arrived at the entrance of Zheng Fa’s home.

A bitter smile couldn’t help but appear on his face—before he came to Jiushan Sect, his Master had high hopes for him, and he had beautiful illusions about Jiushan Sect.

He was determined to pursue the grand path of talismanic magic.

He wanted to make his Master proud.

He even relied on his Master’s favoritism and never cared about the differences between factions.

Only today did he realize that he had already offended so many people.

When those senior brothers, who were once approachable and respectable, banded together one day to exclude him.

Only then did he truly understand how deep the factionalism within Jiushan Sect was.

Looking at the courtyard gate of Zheng Fa’s home.

Zhou Qianyuan shook his head.

Perhaps there’s not much difference with Zheng Fa.

Those senior brothers share the same Master with him, and their previous affection was merely insincere.

He and Zheng Fa were originally from different lineages; Zheng Fa might view him even more as an outsider than those senior brothers did, and the previous courtesy and respect were just for show.

He knocked on the door and when Zheng Fa opened it, he directly said, "Let’s go to Zhang’s place."

Following Zheng Fa, Zhou Qianyuan arrived at Junior Zhang’s small courtyard.

He couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.

In their lineage, Sister Zhang’s name alone was enough to instill a sense of fear.

This small courtyard even had a deterrence like a dragon’s lair or tiger’s den; no fellow disciples dared to approach it in the past.

Sister Zhang was waiting for Zheng Fa and Zhou Qianyuan in the back courtyard, with Yuan also present; both saw Zhou Qianyuan but didn’t seem surprised and simply nodded slightly.

The few of them sat in the small lakeside pavilion, taking turns speaking.

Gradually, Zhou Qianyuan realized something was off—

What’s this about the Five Elements Child Talisman?

What about the Primordial Talisman Foundation?

What about the talisman divided into yin and yang?

Were these things meant for an "opponent" like him to hear?

Sure enough, while they talked, Sister Zhang and Zheng Fa seemed to finally notice there was an outsider present and both looked at him.

Zhou Qianyuan pursed his lips and stood up, intending to take his leave.

"Junior Zhou, what’s your take on this?"

Zheng Fa suddenly asked.

"Eh?"

Zhou Qianyuan blinked, suddenly realizing—perhaps he didn’t encounter the anticipated factionalism and exclusion.

But faced the silent crush of these two geniuses.

Beside him, Yuan looked at him sympathetically.