I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 134Book 2: : Stealing a Man

Vol 2 Chapter 134: Stealing a Man

“The Lord Thunder God said it! He doesn’t want you to build a temple!” Xiao Qing walked through the crowd, shouting at everyone, “Disperse already!”

But no one moved after hearing her words. They just stared at her.

“You guys... You’re not even listening to the Lord Thunder God anymore?”

“It’s not that we won’t listen…” The man in the lead glanced back at the others, then said to Xiao Qing, “We just don’t feel at ease.”

Xiao Qing froze.

He continued, “We can’t just take the Lord Thunder God’s mountain mushrooms for free, right?”

“……”

“What if… the Lord Thunder God thinks we’re ungrateful and leaves us?”

Xiao Qing’s face went pale—and to Zheng Fa’s shock, she actually nodded slowly.

“So you betrayed me for that?”

Looking at Xiao Qing standing under the statue, Zheng Fa was speechless.

Were they really that scared he’d run off?

Xiao Qing said awkwardly, “Well… they’re not entirely wrong.”

Zheng Fa still didn’t like the idea of building a temple. These people had only just started living a better life, and constructing a temple was a huge undertaking that would exhaust their resources and manpower.

If it brought him real benefit, maybe he’d be okay with it.

But all he cared about was Heavenly Merit. Keeping these people alive and well mattered more to him…

“How about this—go talk to them. Get them to clear out the land in the valley below the mountain.”

“Clear the land?” Xiao Qing blinked. “What does that mean?”

“……”

Zheng Fa was planning to turn the Heavenly Monument Realm into the base of the New Jiushan Sect.

He always prepared for the worst.

Like—because of their research into the New Method, the Jiushan Sect might end up being hated by both the Immortal and Demonic sects.

In that case, the Heavenly Monument Realm needed higher productivity—capable of growing spiritual plants and materials, sustaining the sect, and even providing an ongoing stream of disciples.

Developing agriculture was absolutely necessary.

Zheng Fa didn’t know whether Half-Mountain City had a farming tradition in the past, but they clearly didn’t now.

They were living a fishing and hunting lifestyle.

So it wasn’t surprising Xiao Qing didn’t even know what “clearing land” meant.

Before this, Zheng Fa had forbidden them from cultivating farmland, partly because his mastery of thunder techniques wasn’t yet stable enough to create a suitable climate for crops.

The other reason was the physical condition of the Half-Mountain residents—before, they were so frail that farming might’ve killed them.

Now that they had been nourished for a couple of months, Zheng Fa finally felt more at ease.

More importantly, even without full control of the Spirit Wood Thunder, he now had some cultivation strategies for spiritual plants thanks to the Fusang Tree.

It was time to start preparing for farming.

…

The River Valley.

The people of Half-Mountain City had split into two groups.

One group cast nets and fished in the river.

The other, led by Xiao Qing, was clearing land by the riverside.

Most of those clearing land were women and children. The work wasn’t too heavy—the soil in the valley was soft, built up by silt deposits, very fertile, and easy to till.

Their main job was pulling weeds and removing stones from the soil.

Next to Xiao Qing was a little boy, pulling weeds while staring longingly at the boat on the river.

Or more accurately, at the lively, jumping fish on the boat.

His mouth was practically watering just looking at them.

“What, want to go fishing?” Seeing the look on his face, Xiao Qing chuckled.

“No!” The little boy quickly wiped his mouth and shook his head hard.

“Oh?”

“I want to work for the Lord Thunder God!” The boy beamed up at her and said, “My dad’s even jealous of me and my mom!”

“……”

“He wants to work for the Lord Thunder God too!”

…

Zheng Fa tiptoed and snuck into the Hundred Treasures Hall.

Last time, he had exchanged a ton of spiritual materials there, and Xiao Yuying’s face had turned downright sour.

He figured he’d been too flashy.

This time, he’d promoted the cultivation of edible mushrooms on the Invested Territory and used the Rain-Stopping Thunder to balance the clouds and rainfall several times.

He had way more Heavenly Merit recorded in the Investiture of the Gods than last time—over 7,000 points.

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If he exchanged them in public again, it’d definitely raise eyebrows.

So this time, he waited until everyone was gone before slipping into the Hundred Treasures Hall to redeem his points.

After searching the Jade Stele for a bit, Zheng Fa exchanged for another batch of spiritual materials needed for cultivating the secret technique Divine Thunder of Shenxiao.

He used the rest of his merit points to trade for large quantities of cheap and abundant spiritual materials.

Once the exchange was complete, he didn’t even leave the Hundred Treasures Hall. He immediately summoned the Investiture of the Gods and began cultivating on the spot.

In the Thunder Field, the Fusang Tree swayed its branches gently, as if asking for credit.

Raising this thing had definitely been expensive.

But it had been trying hard too… it deserved a reward!

Zheng Fa swallowed the newly obtained spiritual materials, and waves of pure spiritual energy surged into the Thunder Field.

He watched the Fusang Tree with great anticipation…

With all the spiritual materials he’d taken before, he should’ve been able to reach Foundation Establishment Perfection in Divine Thunder of Shenxiao.

This greedy thing, no matter how hard to raise, should at least bloom by now, right?

Sure enough, after absorbing all that energy, the Fusang Tree began to grow rapidly—its trunk thickened, and mysterious, profound patterns appeared on its bark.

Zheng Fa felt his dantian growing warm.

His meridians itched like crazy, as if they were cheering with joy.

But…

Still no flowers!

Staring at a tree trunk without even a single branch, let alone a flower, Zheng Fa’s mouth twitched.

Okay… so it was useful.

But man, it sure had a big appetite!

Since the Fusang Tree hadn’t bloomed, Zheng Fa’s Divine Thunder of Shenxiao cultivation was still stuck at the “nurturing thunder seed” stage.

In other words, his cultivation level remained at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Zheng Fa had no choice but to take out three other spiritual materials—Purple Cloud Flower, Wind Thunder Fruit, and Five Thunder Grass.

He had already exchanged for some materials needed for the secret art of Divine Thunder of Shenxiao twice before. With the addition of the Wind Thunder Fruit, he now had what he needed to cultivate the second secret technique passed down from his Master—Wind Thunder Body.

Compared to the first technique, Heavenly Net Thunder Web, he valued Wind Thunder Body more.

Not because he was cowardly and always thinking of how to run away—at least, that’s what he told himself—but because of the technique’s underlying principles.

Heavenly Net Thunder Web merely involved controlling electric currents.

But in Zheng Fa’s view, Wind Thunder Body had already begun to touch upon the control of electromagnetic force.

The principle behind it was somewhat similar to magnetic levitation trains. Except, while maglev trains use magnetism primarily for hovering, Wind Thunder Body created magnetic fields both inside and around the cultivator—not only allowing for levitation, but also generating thrust to enable rapid flight.

To Zheng Fa, cultivating Wind Thunder Body wasn’t just about improving his chances of survival.

More importantly, it helped him further explore the relationship between thunder techniques and electromagnetism—which, in turn, would help him better control Spirit Wood Thunder.

The cultivation of Wind Thunder Body went surprisingly smoothly.

The moment he exited the Investiture of the Gods, lightning crackled all around him. In the blink of an eye, he shot out of the hall.

The speed caught him completely off guard—his head slammed straight toward the tightly shut main doors of the main hall.

He instinctively shut his eyes—but to his surprise, the doors swung open silently, and he flew right inside.

Once he steadied himself, Zheng Fa’s mind was full of question marks.

Hadn’t people tried to enter the main hall before?

Even Xiao Yuying had tried, but was blocked.

Could it be… the doors were supposed to be headbutted open?

The hall was pitch-black inside—he couldn’t see anything.

Zheng Fa activated Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, but the darkness didn’t lift.

Xiao Yuying had mentioned this before—when the Qingyang Dao Body had gone berserk and the Fusang Tree had emerged, the main doors had opened. But even then, she’d seen nothing but darkness inside.

And the Fusang Tree hadn’t even evolved this time?

A moment later, the Investiture of the Gods answered him.

It flew out from his chest, hovered in midair, and emitted a blinding light.

“Zheng Fa, Thunder God, has accumulated 10,000 Heavenly Merits—bestowed with the Divine Seal...”

A booming, dignified voice echoed through the hall. Only then did Zheng Fa realize—he must’ve hit a threshold of Heavenly Merit, and the Investiture of the Gods had upgraded again.

Sure enough, within the dazzling light, the book slowly shrank into a ball, revealing a square bronze seal within.

But Zheng Fa wasn’t even looking at the seal—he was staring dumbfounded at the faintly illuminated hall behind it.

At the very back of the hall stood a raised platform, and on it, a rectangular shadow loomed.

It looked… like a gravestone.

…

Outside the Heavenly Monument Realm.

“You’re still not leaving, Fairy Xiao?”

Yan Wushuang glanced at the lingering Xiao Yuying and asked, testing the waters.

“You haven’t left either, have you?”

Xiao Yuying gave him a cool glance, a hint of teasing in her eyes.

Yan Wushuang clenched his teeth—he’d thought about it over and over, and in the end, he really didn’t want to give up on convincing Zheng Fa.

Sure, Zheng Fa’s talent was part of the reason.

But also, he hadn’t told Zheng Fa exactly what Elder Han had said: if he could convince Zheng Fa, Elder Han would consider helping him.

This was Sunset Sword Immortal Han!

A man who’d teetered on the edge of Soul Formation more than once!

So after leaving the Heavenly Monument Realm, he’d waited here, hoping for another chance to talk to Zheng Fa.

But… someone else was also trying to steal the man!

Xiao Yuying was still here too.

Yan Wushuang knew full well that she was also trying to win Zheng Fa over.

Their eyes met.

Xiao Yuying’s lips curved in a confident smile.

And Yan Wushuang felt a twinge of defeat—her cultivation was higher, Nascent Soul trumps Golden Core.

That was fine. After all, he had the identity of the Tianhe Sect Master’s son.

Except… his entire cause was anti-Tianhe Sect!

That identity was utterly useless!

To be honest, if he were Zheng Fa, and had to choose a collaborator—he’d probably pick Xiao Yuying too.

“Fairy Xiao, our goals don’t really conflict…” Yan Wushuang’s eyes lit up—maybe he’d been thinking about this the wrong way.

“They do,” Xiao Yuying shook her head. “I don’t know what you want Zheng Fa for. But if he’s with me, I won’t just stand by and watch him get killed.”

“……”

Yan Wushuang fell silent—but at that moment, the Heavenly Monument in front of them trembled.

Both of them looked up in alarm—and saw Zheng Fa’s name flashing in gold. The golden glow pulsed, making the monument tremble with every flicker.

“This…” Yan Wushuang stared in surprise, then muttered, “On the Tianhe Sect’s Heavenly Monument, the name of the Tianhe Ancestor is also golden…”

“I won’t let him die,” Xiao Yuying repeated softly after a pause.

“Fairy Xiao…” Yan Wushuang suddenly said, “Then I really will have to compete with you for him.”

Xiao Yuying frowned and looked at him.

“Elder Han was right!” Yan Wushuang’s expression was filled with determination. “Brother Zheng is the next Ancestor!”