Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 93: Talismans

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Talismans

Zheng Fa felt himself being alienated by most people.

Almost all the disciples who came to the class were newcomers because of what happened on the boat, they were originally quite close to Zheng Fa.

But after Senior Zhuang’s words, they showed a hint of dissatisfaction—

Of course, this was influenced by Senior Zhuang’s attitude.

But more so, it was everyone’s resentment towards the special treatment Zheng Fa received.

In the few days since arriving at the Jiushan Sect, everyone probably realized the preciousness of spiritual materials and understood the value of these extra resources that Zheng Fa was getting.

Like now, most people actually just had three pieces of talisman paper—that is, only three free sheets were provided.

The amount used by everyone in this room did not even add up to what Zheng Fa used in a month.

It was not the scarcity but the uneven distribution that caused resentment.

...

However, Senior Zhuang seemed not to care about this somewhat strange atmosphere.

He stood up and said to everyone: "Talisman paper is hard to come by, I hope you all cherish it. Don’t start drawing yet, begin after I finish explaining."

As he spoke, he picked up the talisman brush and began to paint on the paper: "Pay attention to my posture and hands, release your Divine Sense, observe the changes in the talismanic diagrams in the void."

"When painting talismans, your hand, eye, and spirit must be united as one, the hand follows the eye, and the Divine Sense follows the eye! The brush must not stop, do it in one go!"

As Senior Zhuang’s brush strokes went up and down, some talismanic diagrams in the space began to converge on his paper.

A Golden Armor Talisman emerged under his brush.

"The difficulty of painting talismans lies not in the painting, but in recognizing the talismans!" Senior Zhuang put down his brush, turned to the crowd, and said: "The talismanic diagrams and Divine Sense are the foundation of the talismanic Dao!"

"Senior brother, I heard that Talisman Masters are distinguished by grades, what are they based on?"

The expressions of others also began to show eagerness, seemingly more interested in this topic.

Senior Zhuang thought for a moment and said: "To say that Talisman Masters are differentiated by grades is actually inaccurate; it really depends on the grade of the talismans you draw."

"How do you determine the grade of a talisman?"

Senior Zhuang pointed at the Golden Armor Talisman on his desk: "This one of mine is an Xuan-grade talisman."

"A talisman is essentially a storage of a spell within the talisman paper," he continued. "The grade of a talisman is determined by its power—for example, my Golden Armor Talisman here can withstand a single full-force attack from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, which is what qualifies it as an Xuan-grade talisman."

"An Earth Grade Talisman corresponds to the power of a spell from a Qi Refinement Cultivator."

"An Xuan-grade talisman corresponds to the Foundation Establishment Stage, while an Earth Grade Talisman equates to the Golden Core Stage, and so on."

"What about the Heavenly Grade Talisman?" someone asked curiously.

"A Heavenly Grade Talisman is not something I have knowledge about; almost all who can draw them are at the Nascent Soul Stage." Senior Zhuang paused, glanced at Zheng Fa and said: "I say almost because Zhang can as well."

...

After briefly explaining, Senior Zhuang told them to start trying to draw the Golden Armor Talisman themselves.

"Don’t start on talisman paper, practice a few times on blank paper first." Seemingly worried about wasting resources, Senior Zhuang additionally reminded them.

After that, he went down to give individual guidance to the new disciples.

When he came to Zheng Fa, he did not show any unusual behavior, just helped adjust the angle of Zheng Fa’s forearm and then moved on.

After practicing the Primordial Talisman of the Golden Armor Talisman on paper for a while, Zheng Fa suddenly discovered—the talismanic Dao was incredibly suitable for him!

According to Zheng Fa’s understanding, painting talismans was actually not much different from making bombs.

Divine Sense and the understanding of talismanic diagrams determined the amount of ’charge’ you could handle—stronger Divine Sense allowed you to see more talismanic diagrams, and the more diagrams you recognized, the more of them you could attract.

As for Spiritual Power, it is roughly equivalent to the amount of gunpowder you currently have in reserve.

Drawing a single Golden Armor Talisman by himself would almost consume a third of the Spiritual Power in his body, but this does not affect the power of the talisman, only how many Zheng Fa can draw.

That is to say, even if both are at the Qi Refinement Realm, in one day, they can only draw the same number of talismanic diagrams, but the ones Zheng Fa creates are more powerful than others’.

Thus, a more fitting analogy might be physical strength and craftsmanship.

With the same physical strength, different craftsmanship yields different creations.

After giving instructions to everyone, Senior Zhuang left the room, seemingly giving them freedom to practice on their own.

Han Qi came over to Zheng Fa’s seat and whispered, "Today we actually have Senior Zhuang... you’re a bit unlucky."

Zheng Fa asked, "What’s wrong with Senior Zhuang?"

"Senior Zhuang... how should I put this, he should be in the Discipline Hall rather than the Talisman Magic Pavilion." Han Qi said with a strange expression: "He is someone who values rules over personal feelings, he’s offended numerous people. But actually, we kind of like him."

"Why’s that?" Zheng Fa couldn’t understand.

"You know about the recent atmosphere in the Immortal Sect, with all the favoritism towards grooming genius disciples, things are getting increasingly difficult for us at the lower levels." Han Qi explained: "As for Senior Zhuang, it seems he used to be some kind of censor or something in the secular world, with a notoriously bad temper and not doing so well, and after he joined the Immortal Sect, his temper got even worse."

Zheng Fa nodded: "So he just hates geniuses?"

"Not exactly, his view is that reward shouldn’t come without merit, even if it’s a genius, they should be treated the same as us when it comes to rewards." Han Qi sighed and continued: "And he also said, the rarer the spiritual materials, the more the higher-ups can’t afford to reward without merit, otherwise it fosters discontent and unrest within the Immortal Sect."

Zheng Fa nodded in understanding, slightly grasping Senior Zhuang’s stance.

"Speaking of which, if not for Senior Sister Zhang, he would probably have a miserable time in the sect."

"Senior Sister Zhang?"

"His attitude easily offends people, and the ones he offends are often significant figures. Some time ago, when someone wanted to cause him trouble, it was Senior Sister Zhang who stepped in to protect him."

Han Qi frowned and said, "But there’s something strange about this; these past few months, according to the schedule, today’s talisman lecture shouldn’t have been Senior Zhuang’s turn."

Zheng Fa glanced outside the door; he was not sure whether Senior Zhuang had something against him personally.

But Senior Zhuang coming today, was probably arranged by some people who held grudges against him.

Outside the door, Senior Zhuang greeted a man who was slowly approaching, bowing his hands in salute, "Greetings, Senior Li."

His posture was low, but his expression was flat, showing little enthusiasm.

"Senior Zhuang, although we belong to different factions, there’s no need to always wear a cold face." Said Senior Li with a chuckle: "I heard that today a ’great Buddha’ has arrived."

Senior Zhuang remained silent, listening to Senior Li continue: "Once in a thousand years, huh? Entering the sect and already getting the same share as us, I bet the spiritual materials of your lineage will all have to be prioritized for him in the future!"

"Why must you, brother, resemble a gossiping woman, sowing discord here with the conduct of a petty person?"

"Hm?"

"Would you dare to say this in front of Senior Sister Zhang?" Senior Zhuang said coldly: "Since you know we are from different factions, with Senior Sister Zhang instructing Zheng and us pointing things out, it’s not your place to make comments."

"You!"

...

"Brothers are discussing talismans again!"

Han Qi exclaimed in shock, pointing towards the door.

Zheng Fa saw Senior Zhuang, who had been dressed properly just a moment ago, now rolling up his sleeves, swinging his arm rapidly, and flinging out several talismanic diagrams, engaging in a heated fistfight with another man.

"No wait, in the sect, this is called ’discussing’?"

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