Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 103 - 9: Accepting a Disciple

Chapter 103: Chapter 9: Accepting a Disciple

Zhou Qianyuan was on his way to Zheng Fa’s home. Over the past month, he had been visiting Zheng Fa every few days to discuss talismanic magic.

In truth, he hadn’t gained much.

He knew this was because his own skill in talismanic magic was lacking.

He had only just begun to study his Master’s talismanic Dao, and had very little to offer for discussion with Zheng Fa.

Similarly, he had come to understand Zheng Fa’s personality - a man who wouldn’t take action without a sure prospect.

In their exchanges, Zheng Fa clearly held some reservations.

However, even so, Zhou Qianyuan was still impressed by some of Zheng Fa’s ideas, which occasionally enlightened him and broadened his horizons.

Unless he felt it would be impolite, he even wanted to visit Zheng Fa’s home every single day.

Today, he was not alone.

"Junior Zhou, if you have any questions, you should just ask us senior brothers. Wouldn’t we teach you?" Sun Daoyu said beside him with a slightly helpless tone, "What’s the deal with you always running off to Zheng Fa’s place?"

"Senior brother, the Master has approved of it."

"Yes, the Master is broad-minded," Sun Daoyu nodded, "But not everyone has such broadness of heart. By doing this, I’m afraid you might hurt the feelings of our lineage’s brothers."

"..."

Zhou Qianyuan remained silent.

Sun Daoyu sighed, "I know that in the Master’s eyes, the rivalry between our two lineages is nothing serious, but... how can the grudges of the past decades be brushed off with such a word?"

"Senior brother, I don’t wish to get involved in these matters..."

Zhou Qianyuan’s tone revealed a hint of weariness.

"I know, I know you are entirely devoted to the Dao, and I too hope you will become the mainstay of our lineage one day..." Sun Daoyu cracked a smile, "But not everyone understands you. Do you know that our lineage’s older brothers already have complaints about you?"

"... What are they saying?"

"They say you’re playing both sides, taking the Master’s talismanic Dao to curry favor with people from Zhang Senior Sister’s circle. If it weren’t for the Master’s high regard for you, they might already be troubling you."

"Do you think the same, senior brother?"

"I was the one who guided you at the start, how could I not understand you?" Sun Daoyu patted him, speaking earnestly, "But, junior brother, one can’t act merely according to their own wishes. If you don’t want to completely alienate the other senior brothers, you should reflect on this more."

"I have already made my decision." Zhou Qianyuan looked up at his senior brother, "I was taught by the Master, and it is you, senior brother, who always looked after me... As long as neither of you obstructs me, I don’t care about what others think."

"Junior brother, you..."

"Senior brother, I’m not cultivating for power, nor am I doing it for them."

"..." Sun Daoyu fell silent for a while, finally saying, "I’ll speak with the senior brothers on your behalf again. Being from the same lineage, it’s not good to be at odds with each other. Also, I want to advise you once more, no matter how formidable you find Zheng Fa’s talismanic Dao to be, the Master’s secret teachings must not be passed on! If you do, I will not be able to smooth things over for you again!"

"I have already consulted the Master, and he said that the ’Void Spirit Eye’ can also be passed on to him."

"This... The Master actually regards him on the same level as Zhang Senior Sister?" Sun Daoyu looked puzzled, "Yes, Zheng Fa is acknowledged as the foremost in talismanic magic once in ten thousand years, I recognize his prowess in talismanic magic! But the ’Void Spirit Eye’ is the Master’s secret teaching. Zheng Fa is barely twenty years old, only two months into his practice, and also has Dual Spirit Roots... The Master actually has such high regard for him?"

It was Sun Daoyu himself who had passed on the ’Void Spirit Eye’ to Zhang Senior Sister and naturally knew the significance of the Master teaching the ’Void Spirit Eye’ to Zheng Fa – Should I also call you a Master?

Zhou Qianyuan looked at Sun Daoyu, aware that this person probably thought Zheng Fa’s qualifications were a bit low - but he didn’t say anything out of respect for the Master.

...

Zheng Fa’s home.

As soon as the Yuan Condensing Pill entered his mouth, it transformed into a warm current, flowing down Zheng Fa’s esophagus to his abdomen.

Zheng Fa’s Divine Sense focused on the Dantian within his body, beginning to control the Spiritual Power, attempting to condense it into the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman according to his will.

He was a bit nervous.

According to the ’Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method’, this step was a difficulty in condensing the talismanic diagram.

The Divine Sense of a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator was weak after all, and the ability to control Spiritual Power was not strong.

The act of talisman painting within the Dantian was very challenging for them.

Even for a genius like Zhang Senior Sister, the records showed her frustration at this step, mentioning times when her Divine Sense was exhausted, the talismanic diagram remained incomplete, then completely disintegrated.

And if this attempt failed, the Yuan Condensing Pill would be wasted.

That’s twenty whole Spirit Stones!

But as soon as Zheng Fa tried it - huh? That’s it?

He looked at the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman in his Dantian, which could be described as perfect.

Feeling his Divine Sense, still abundant.

A sense of pride crept into his heart - Hmm, how am I not considered a genius?

Once the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman was condensed, it settled automatically within the Dantian.

His Dantian was quite lively at the moment.

Not to mention the Spiritual Power.

Before that, there was a cluster of Green Yang True Fire residing there.

Now, there was an additional Right Stand No Shadow Talisman.

The Green Yang True Fire had always been aloof, now completely ignoring the other two.

But the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman and Spiritual Power were originally of the same source and were now very close together.

According to the records in the ’Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method’, the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman he had just condensed was not stable.

If he relied on this talismanic diagram for talisman painting without the talisman paper, besides consuming Spiritual Power, it would also consume the diagram itself.

After three uses, it would dissipate - it’s not without remedies, as long as the usage does not exceed three times, during cultivation allowing this not fully dissipated talismanic diagram to absorb Spiritual Power, it could repair itself.

To be able to cast spells without limitation like Zhang Senior Sister without talisman paper, one must forge a Primordial Talisman Foundation.

After condensing the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman, Zheng Fa began to feel the power of the ’Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method’ -

When cultivators practice, their Divine Souls involuntarily reach outward, and it was the same for Zheng Fa.

Normally this wouldn’t mean much, but now the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman was absorbing the corresponding talismanic diagrams within the reach of his Divine Soul.

These diagrams entered his Dantian and transformed back into Spiritual Energy.

Zheng Fa estimated that his cultivation speed had increased by nearly one-tenth!

If one were to condense a Primordial Talisman Foundation, wouldn’t this cultivation speed be able to double?

Only now did Zheng Fa realize why Zhang Senior Sister was reputed to be the fastest to establish her foundation within the Hundred Immortals Alliance - she’s cheating!

Just at this moment, Zheng Fa felt a slight tremor in the spiritual power within his body.

His body was like a funnel, absorbing the spiritual energy from the outside world, causing a small vortex of spiritual energy to form above the room.

...

Not far from the courtyard, Zhou Qianyuan and Sun Daoyu looked up at the fleeting spiritual energy vortex in the sky and paused in their steps.

"Senior Brother... is this?" Zhou Qianyuan had some guesses in his heart, but he wasn’t sure.

"He’s made a breakthrough." Sun Daoyu fell silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Was he at the Qi Refining First Level before?"

"Yes."

"He has been cultivating for not long, less than two months, right?" Sun Daoyu thought for a while, "Dual Spirit Roots, and he broke through to the Qi Refining Second Level in less than two months? Junior brother, how long did it take you to break through?"

"Me?" Zhou Qianyuan was puzzled, "Senior brother, don’t you know? I broke through half a month ago."

"You have a Metal Spirit Root plus a Geng Metal Dao Body, which complement each other and that’s why you could be so fast..." Sun Daoyu gently shook his head, "This Zheng Fa, his speed isn’t much slower than an ordinary Single Spirit Root."

Zhou Qianyuan watched as his own senior brother’s expression changed, seemingly lost in thought.

As the spiritual energy above the Zheng Family gradually calmed, Zhou Qianyuan knew that Zheng Fa had finished his cultivation.

He walked to the courtyard gate and knocked on the door of the Zheng Family.

"Junior Zhou, you’ve come." Zheng Fa wasn’t surprised to see Zhou Qianyuan; it was Sun Daoyu behind him that prompted a somewhat astonished greeting, "Senior Sun?"

"The two of us happened to be outside and saw junior brother’s breakthrough, so we came to congratulate you," Sun Daoyu said with a cupped-hand salute and a smiley face towards Zheng Fa.

The smile on his face was much more genuine than the last time he saw Zheng Fa.

"Thank you for the kind thoughts, senior brother." Zheng Fa invited the two into the courtyard and looked at Zhou Qianyuan.

Zhou Qianyuan glanced at Zheng Fa, then at Sun Daoyu.

He hesitated in his heart—he wanted to speak about the Void Spirit Eye spell, but he knew that Sun Daoyu was against it.

In front of senior brother Sun, he did not know how to start the conversation.

"Junior Zhou?"

Zheng Fa asked softly.

"Cough!" Sun Daoyu coughed lightly and suddenly interjected, "Junior Zhou, he’s not good with words... let me speak instead, Zheng, my master is interested in taking you as a disciple!"

Zhou Qianyuan slowly turned his head to look at his senior brother: "?"

Why is he stealing my lines?

Don’t you know why I’m hesitating?

"Master Pang?" Zheng Fa was inevitably startled.

Zhou Qianyuan explained, "Yes, Zheng, after our exchange on talismanic magic, I mentioned your insights to my master several times... He appreciates your talent in the talismanic Dao, and intends to take you under his wing."

Zheng Fa nodded.

He didn’t seem surprised.

At this moment, Sun Daoyu spoke again, "Zheng, do you know that the master has already bestowed the Void Spirit Eye? It is his secret transmission."

Zheng Fa fell silent for a while, then suddenly asked,

"Master Pang has the intention to take me as his disciple?"

"Yes!"

"Then may I ask, what should I do when Zhang loses her temper in her fury? Senior brother, can you protect me?"

"Zhang... she will have restraint, right?" Sun Daoyu stuttered.

"...then do all the disciples under Master Pang receive the same attention as Junior Zhou?"

"...cough, Junior Zhou, after all, has extraordinary talent."

"...then I probably won’t have a fate with the Void Spirit Eye."

After leaving the house, Zhou Qianyuan still furrowed his brows as he looked at Sun Daoyu.

"Senior brother, how did you change so quickly?"

"This Zheng Fa has good talent; he managed to reach the Qi Refining Second Level in less than two months."

"Do you have a penchant for talent?"

"Penchant for talent?" Sun Daoyu chuckled softly, looking at Zhou Qianyuan, "Junior Zhou, you... It’s just that I don’t want Zhang to have another strong warrior under her. Junior brother, the master’s favor isn’t everything, and it’s still uncertain how much he really values Zheng Fa."

"..."

"It’s a pity though, he’s a clever man."

...

Zhang’s courtyard.

"You refused Master Pang?" Zhang asked Zheng Fa.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Who says being a traitor is easy?"

Zheng Fa answered honestly.

If it weren’t for the sectarian rules, the two factions would have resorted to using their True Fire.

Master Pang already had Zhou Qianyuan; how much could he actually value him?

Zhang’s protection of him was seen by the entire Jiushan Sect; if he were to become Master Pang’s disciple, Zhang’s lineage would likely deeply hate him, and Master Pang’s lineage would probably consider him ungrateful.

In the end, he would be shunned by both sides.

"The Void Spirit Eye spell is also well-known in the Hundred Immortals Alliance."

"..."

"Don’t want it?"

"Don’t want it."

"Oh, then I won’t give it to you."

Zheng Fa was taken aback, raising his head just to see Zhang holding a jade tube in her hands, with a light smile on her lips, looking at him.

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