Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 202 - 101 Heavenly Merit

Chapter 202: Chapter 101 Heavenly Merit

Zheng Fa stretched out his hand and took the silver book that floated in the void before him, discovering a red frame on the cover of the book, with a blank space inside as if waiting for him to inscribe something.

He tried to turn the pages, but it was as if the book was glued together, unmoving no matter how hard he tried.

He attempted to project his Divine Sense into it, but the thing showed no reaction.

"Mr. Zheng, you must use your Divine Sense to inscribe your name on the cover, then this Sealing God Book will acknowledge its owner," Yan Wushuang’s reminder came from behind.

As instructed, Zheng Fa used his Divine Sense to write his name, and indeed, it seemed like his Sea of Consciousness established some ineffable connection with the book.

He felt a stir in his heart, and the Sealing God Book, which had been uncooperative just now, obediently opened itself in accordance with his intention.

The first page inside depicted a map, rough in detail, of the kind that doesn’t readily reveal the directions of east, south, west, and north.

It really tested one’s imagination.

The second page contained two words: Heavenly Merit, followed by a zero.

Starting from the third page, the content began to vary.

The third page indicated that at a certain time, the next day, several paths of Heavenly Thunder should appear, detailing the size of the Heavenly Thunder, even down to the length and width.

The fourth page specified how much rain should fall the day after tomorrow at a certain location, down to the minutest detail.

Nearly a dozen pages were filled with similar things.

Beyond these, Zheng Fa found the rest even more incomprehensible.

"The first part is a calendar of affairs, and the latter—hmm, incomplete Spells," Yan Wushuang and the others came over to Zheng Fa and explained, their expressions slightly troubled: "This is the reason we found the Heavenly Stele Realm puzzling."

Zheng Fa looked at these people, feeling their attitudes toward him had changed.

Yan Wushuang seemed not to show it, but the two accompanying Chu Tianque, including the other Cultivators who entered later, seemed to look at him differently.

Upon seeing his puzzled expression.

Yan Wushuang smiled, "Mr. Zheng, being granted 5,000 li of land to govern as a first-time enfeoffment, truly took us by surprise."

Zheng Fa looked at the silver book in his hand and began to realize.

"You all are...?"

"In the Heavenly Stele Realm, those initially enfeoffed with 5,000 li to govern, I only know of myself," Yan Wushuang said with a smile: "Of course, I don’t know everyone who entered the Heavenly Stele, but... judging by my position at the top of the Heavenly Merit List, even if there are others who started with a silver book, there wouldn’t be many."

"Silver book..." Zheng Fa bowed and asked Yan Wushuang: "I wonder what this governance and Heavenly Merit exactly are?"

"You will come to know these matters sooner or later, Mr. Zheng," Yan Wushuang sighed, "It was also something we gradually explored over the past days."

"When we first entered the Heavenly Stele Realm, we were all bewildered, only later to understand—that this ’divinity’, is akin to an official in a mundane dynasty, and the land we govern is our jurisdiction; our duty is to manage our own territories."

Zheng Fa nodded; he could understand this.

"This is not too bad; among us, there are not a few who have had the experience of holding office in the mundane world," Yan Wushuang spoke softly, "The troublesome part is that apart from Thunder Skill, Spells, Spirit Talismans, and even Magical Treasures are utterly unusable in this realm."

"Yes, I also noticed this upon entering this world."

"Because of this, acquiring Heavenly Merit becomes troublesome," Zheng Fa heard Yan Wushuang continue, "We still aren’t clear how Heavenly Merit is quantified."

"But from what we can see now, by using those Spells to punish evil and promote good, to wield the laws, one can obtain Heavenly Merit."

"According to this calendar of affairs, wielding Heavenly Thunder, controlling clouds and rain, and even promoting agriculture are all ways to gain Heavenly Merit."

"Of course, the proliferation of population also contributes to Heavenly Merit."

"And Heavenly Merit can be used to expand the territory of your enfeoffment, and also to exchange for spiritual materials at the Hundred Treasure Pavilion."

"This... all these are governance?" Zheng Fa said, seeming to understand, "Sounds not difficult?"

Yan Wushuang gave a wry smile, "At first, we also thought it wasn’t difficult, but... Zheng, you’ll understand why we find it challenging once you visit your governed land."

"Hmm?"

"Zheng, we have a conjecture... in order to accomplish the various tasks in this calendar of affairs, one must achieve a godly level of mastery in Thunder Skill."

"Godly level?"

"That is... to reach a level of mastery in Thunder Skill that no one in the entire Xuanwei Realm has achieved, and perfect those Spells that seem impossible at first glance."

...

Seeing that he still seemed not to understand, Yan Wushuang pointed at the Sealing God Book and said:

"Mr. Zheng, just flip to later pages, and you will see that the Thunder Skills in this Sealing God Book are actually divided into three major categories."

"Three categories?"

"The first category is the most common, namely Heavenly Tribulation Thunder," Yan Wushuang explained, "This is used for punishing evil and promoting good. Most of us rely on this Thunder Skill to accumulate Heavenly Merit, but we still haven’t figured out how to control the power of Tribulation Thunder."

"The second category is much more difficult, called Cloud Rain Thunder."

"Cloud Rain Thunder?"

"It means controlling the clouds and rain with Heavenly Thunder..." Yan Wushuang’s face also showed helplessness, "This is the harmonizing of clouds and rain mentioned at the time of Divine Enthronement, even more difficult than Tribulation Thunder. You look at that calendar of affairs, the rainfall needs to be precise down to the finest detail, not to mention the relationship between Thunder Skill and clouds and rain, this precision is impossible to master..."

Zheng Fa was momentarily stunned—wasn’t this just using electromagnetic force to bring about and control rainfall?

Seeing his expression, Yan Wushuang seemed to think he had realized the difficulty and lamented again, "That’s challenging enough, but the most difficult is the third category—using Thunder Skill to promote the growth of vegetation."

"This... Does it relate?" Zheng Fa also found this incomprehensible upon hearing.

"This matter... also took a lot of effort for us to understand," Yan Wushuang explained, "Later on, we found out in the Xuanwei Realm, that Spirit Plants cultivation is also highly dependent on thunder. Many sects proficient at cultivating Spirit Plants believe that Heavenly Thunder contains the essence of life..."